The Capitoline Museums in Rome

Perched on the Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, the Capitoline Museums – Musei Capitolini in Italian – are the oldest museums in the world.

With their incredible collections of art and archaeology housed in sublime historic palaces, the Capitoline Museums are a must-see for all visitors exploring the Eternal City! Follow the guide!

Brief history of the Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Hill

The Capitoline Hill is one of the seven Roman hills. With its temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva (the Roman equivalents of the Greek gods Zeus, Hera and Athena), the Capitoline Hill represented the religious centre of ancient Rome.

In ancient times, each Roman city had its own capitol – its religious centre – modelled on Rome’s.

The origins of the Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums were founded in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated four ancient bronze statues to the city: the Capitoline She-wolf, the Thorn Shooter, the Camillus and fragments of a statue of Domitian.

In the following centuries, the successors of Pope Sixtus IV continued the work of their predecessor by donating ancient works to the Capitoline Museums.

Between the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the Piazza del Campidoglio was completely redesigned by Michelangelo with :

• the renovation of the Palazzo Senatorio, which today houses the headquarters of the City Council of Rome
• the renovation of the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the construction of the Palazzo Nuovo, which house the museum collections

In 1734, under the pontificate of Pope Clement XII, the Capitoline Museums finally opened their doors to the general public.

A few years later, Pope Benedict XIV bought the collections of the Pio and Sacchetti families to found the Pinacoteca Capitolina.

In 1997, the Capitoline Museums opened the Montemartini annex in a former thermoelectric plant on the edge of Rome.

Visiting the Capitoline Museums

The Palazzo dei Conservatori

The Palazzo dei Conservatori is the oldest of the two main palaces housing the collections of the Capitoline Museums.

This wonderfully well-preserved palace is worth a visit both for its sumptuous decoration – ancient frescoes, some dating back to the 16^th century, stucco work, decorated ceilings, etc. – and for its sumptuous collections.

The Palazzo dei Conservatori houses some of the most emblematic sculptures of the Capitoline Museums (including the Capitoline She-wolf and the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius), as well as the Capitoline Picture Gallery. Art lovers will be able to admire paintings by the greatest masters of the 16^th and 17^th centuries: Caravaggio, Bellini, Gerchin, Cortona, Rubens, Tintoretto, Titian, Van Dyck, Velásquez and Veronese.

Adjacent to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the Palazzo Clementino-Caffarelli displays collections of medals, coins and precious objects.

The must-sees of the Palazzo dei Conservatori:

• The Capitoline She-Wolf
• The Thorn Shooter
• The Camillus (or Zingara)
• The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
• The fragments of a colossal statue of Constantine
• The head of Medusa and the statue of Pope Urban VII by Bernini
• The Fortune Teller and St John the Baptist by Caravaggio
• Romulus and Remus by Rubens
• The Flagellation by Tintoretto
• The Baptism of Christ by Titian
• Self-portrait by Velásquez
• …

The Palazzo Nuovo

Built in the first half of the 17^th century based on designs of Michelangelo, the Palazzo Nuovo now houses a fine collection of ancient sculptures.

Don’t miss the Hall of Philosophers, where you can see busts of many of the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece (Plato, Pythagoras, Sophocles…).

The Palazzo Nuovo also exhibits some very beautiful antique mosaics.

The must-sees of the Palazzo Nuovo:

• The Dying Gaul
• The Capitoline Venus
• The Capitoline Antinous
• The Red Faun
• The Mosaic of the Doves
• The Mosaic of Theatrical Masks
• The Hall of the Philosophers
• ….

The Lapidary Gallery and the Tabularium

Excavated in the 1930s, the Lapidary Gallery is an underground gallery linking the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo.

The gallery also gives access to the Tabularium: the ancient archive room dating from ancient Rome.

The Centrale Montemartini

Located in the district of Ostiense (south of Rome), the Montemartini Central is an annex of the Capitoline Museums inaugurated in 1997.

In a resolutely industrial setting visitors can discover collections of mainly Greek and Roman sculptures.

Why not have a look if you’re staying in Rome long enough? If you only have a few days in the capital, however, you should stick to the collections located on the museums’ main site.

Access

Getting to the Capitoline Museums

The vast majority of the Capitoline Museums’ collections are housed in the two palaces in Piazza del Campidoglio, in the centre of Rome, a few steps from the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II.

The easiest way to get there is to take one of the many busses that stop at Piazza Venezia, just a short walk away from the Museums.

Address: Piazza del Campidoglio 1 – 00186 Roma

Opening hours of the Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30am to 7.30pm.

Admission fees

• Combined ticket (permanent collections + temporary exhibition): €15 full price, €13 reduced price
• Single ticket (permanent collections): €11.50 full price, €9.50 reduced price

Admission is free on the first Sunday of each month.

👉 If you are visiting Rome during high season or school holidays, Captain Ulysses recommends that you buy a skip-the-line ticket online.

👉 If you don’t want to miss any of the treasures of the museums, you can also opt for a guided tour of the Capitoline Museums.

Credits
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