The Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio): Michelangelo's Geometry of Power

Why is it significant?

Climb the monumental shallow ramps of the Cordonata staircase and step onto the breathtaking oval piazza of the Campidoglio.

Key Facts

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Climb the monumental shallow ramps of the Cordonata staircase and step onto the breathtaking oval piazza of the Campidoglio. In antiquity, this rocky summit was the Capitoline Hill, the religious fortress of Rome crowned by the colossal Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, where triumphant generals offered sacrifices.

In fifteen thirty-six, embarrassed by the muddy hill when Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth visited Rome, Pope Paul the Third commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to completely redesign the space. Michelangelo turned the square around to face the Vatican instead of the ancient Forum, creating an ingenious trapezoidal piazza centered on an intricate twelve-pointed starburst pavement.

In the center stands the magnificent gilded bronze equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It survived centuries when other pagan bronzes were melted down for weapons only because medieval Christians mistakenly believed it depicted Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor.

Walk to the terrace behind Palazzo Senatorio and look back across the illuminated Forum toward the Colosseum. You have walked through the eternal foundation of Western civilization.