Schematic map of Rome showing the seven hills and Servian wall

The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the most famous and highest of the seven hills of Rome. The Seven Hills of Rome east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the ancient city Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. The word rione (pl rioni) comes from the Latin regio (pl regiones, meaning region during the Middle Ages the Latin word Campitelli is the X rione of Rome. In the logo there is the black head of a Dragon on a white background The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio "Tabularium" is the general term for any building containing records There are more than 900 Churches in Rome. Most but not all of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches. Santa Maria in Aracoeli (" St Mary of the Altar of Heaven " is a titular Basilica church in Rome, located on Ancient Roman religion encompasses the collection of Beliefs and Rituals practised in Ancient Rome in the form of Cult practices See Temple of Jupiter for temples to him in other places The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus ("Jupiter greatest and best" also known The Temple of Veiovis was the Temple of the god Veiovis, in Rome In Ancient Rome, the Capitoline Games ( Latin: Ludi Capitolini) were annual games or Combats instituted Roman sculpture refers to the Sculpture of Ancient Rome. Roman sculpture often involved copying of Ancient Greek sculpture. The Colossus of Constantine was a colossal Acrolithic statue of Constantine the Great ( c This page refers to the main forum in the center of Rome See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below for other forums in Rome and For the pioneer fortification at Marietta Ohio see Campus Martius Marietta For the park in Detroit Michigan, see Campus Martius Park The Seven Hills of Rome east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the ancient city Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 By the 16th century, Capitolino had become Campidoglio in the Roman dialect. Romanesco is a Romance language spoken in Rome, Italy. It is one of the Central Italian dialects, and considered close to Tuscan Similarly, the English word capitol derives from Capitoline. The Capitoline contains relatively few ancient ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval palaces (now the Capitoline Museums) that surround a piazza. For other meanings (eg the word's use in place names see Palazzo (disambiguation. The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio For the Brazilian footballer see Wilson da Silva Piazza For the American baseball player see Mike Piazza For the coupé car A significant portion of the architecture in this area was designed by Michelangelo. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime One of them by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all

History

Main article: History of Rome

Ancient

The hill was the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad, started by Rome's fifth king, Tarquin the Elder. The History of the city of Rome spans 2800 years of the existence of a city that grew from a small Italian village in the 9th century BC into the center The Capitoline Triad was a group of three supreme deities in Roman religion who were worshipped in an elaborate temple on Rome 's Capitoline Hill, the Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, also called Tarquin the Elder or Tarquin I, was held by ancient tradition to be the fifth King of Rome, said to have reigned It was considered one of the largest and the most beautiful temples in the city (although little now remains) and was probably founded on an earlier Etruscan temple of Veiovis, the remains and cult statue of which survive. The Temple of Veiovis was the Temple of the god Veiovis, in Rome The city legend starts with the recovery of a human skull (the word for head in Latin is caput) when foundation trenches were being dug for the Temple of Jupiter by Tarquin's order. See Temple of Jupiter for temples to him in other places The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus ("Jupiter greatest and best" also known

At this hill the Sabines, creeping to the Citadel, were let in by the infamous Vestal Virgin Tarpeia. The Sabines ( Latin Sabini, Singular Sabinus) were an Italic tribe that lived in ancient Italy, inhabiting A citadel is a fortress for protecting a Town, sometimes incorporating a Castle. In Ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins ( sacerdos Vestalis) were the virgin Holy female Priests of Vesta, the Goddess of the The Tarpeian Rock ( rupes Tarpeia) was a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome For this she was the first to suffer the punishment for treachery of being thrown off the steep crest of the hill to fall on the dagger-sharp Tarpeian Rocks below. The Tarpeian Rock ( rupes Tarpeia) was a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome When the Senones Gauls settled in Central-east Italy raided Rome in 390 BC, after the battle of River Allia, the Capitoline Hill was the one section of the city to evade capture by the barbarians, it being fortified by the Roman defenders. The Senones were a Gallic people of Gallia Celtica, who in the time of Julius Caesar inhabited the district which now includes the departments of Events By place Roman Republic July 18 - Brennus, a chieftain of the Senones of the Adriatic coast of Allia, a stream flowing into the Tiber, is 11 miles from Rome and the site of the Battle of the Allia, where Romans were defeated by the

The Capitoline Hill cordonata (centre of picture) leading from Via del Teatro di Marcello to Piazza del Campidoglio.

When Julius Caesar suffered an accident during his Triumph, clearly indicating the wrath of Jupiter for his actions in the Civil Wars, he approached the hill and Jupiter's temple on his knees as a way of averting the unlucky omen (nevertheless he was murdered six months later, and Brutus and his other assassins locked themselves inside the temple afterwards). A Roman triumph ( la [[wikttriumphus triumphus]], Old Latin la triumpus, attested as the exclamation la TRIVMPE in the Carmen Arvale; via The Roman civil war of 49 BC sometimes called Caesar's Civil War, is one of the last conflicts within the Roman Republic. An omen (also called portent or presage) is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the Future, often signifying the advent of change For others with this cognomen see Albinus (cognomen. Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (born circa 85 BC died 43 BC was a Roman politician ^[1] Vespasian's brother and nephew were also besieged in the temple during the Year of Four Emperors (69). See also Titus Flavius Sabinus for other men of this name Titus Flavius Sabinus was the elder son of Titus Flavius Sabinus and Vespasia Polla See also Titus Flavius Sabinus for other men of this name Titus Flavius Sabinus was the son of Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 47. The Year of the Four Emperors was a year in the history of the Roman Empire, AD 69 in which four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession 69 (sex position & book by Ryu Murakami are -- already linked by "" with other meanings

The Tabularium, located underground beneath the piazza and hilltop, occupies a building of the same name built in the 1st century BC to hold Roman records of state. "Tabularium" is the general term for any building containing records The 1st century BC started the first day of 100 BC and ended the last day of 1 BC. The Tabularium looks out from the rear onto the Roman Forum. This page refers to the main forum in the center of Rome See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below for other forums in Rome and The main attraction of the Tabularium, besides the structure itself, is the Temple of Veiovis. The Temple of Veiovis was the Temple of the god Veiovis, in Rome

Medieval

The church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli is adjacent to the square, located near where the ancient arx, or citadel, atop the hill it once stood. Santa Maria in Aracoeli (" St Mary of the Altar of Heaven " is a titular Basilica church in Rome, located on An Arx was a Roman citadel the term was also used to refer to the northern hump of the two forming the Capitoline Hill of ancient Rome where an arx once stood At its base are the remains of a Roman insula, with more than 4 stores visible from the street. In Roman architecture, insulae (singular Insula) were large Apartment buildings where the lower and middle classes of Romans (the Plebs

In the Middle Ages the hill’s sacred function was obscured by its other role as the center of the civic government of Rome, revived as a commune in the 11th century. In Italy, the comune, (plural comuni) is the basic Administrative division of both provinces and regions and may be properly approximated in The city's government was now to be firmly under papal control, but the Capitoline was the scene of many movements of urban resistance, such as the dramatic scenes of Cola di Rienzo's revived republic. The Papal States, State(s of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa Cola di Rienzo or di Rienzi ( c 1313 – October 8, 1354) was an Italian medieval politician and popular leader Tribune As a result, the piazza was already surrounded by existing buildings by the 16th century.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo's systematizing of the Campidoglio, engraved by Étienne Dupérac, 1568. Étienne Dupérac or du Pérac (1520 — 1607 was a French painter draughtsman and engraver and a Topographer and Antiquary, who arrived in Rome in 1559

The existing design of the Piazza del Campidoglio and the surrounding palazzos was created by famed Renaissance artist and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 - 1546. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime One of them by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all At the height of his fame he was commissioned by the Farnese Pope Paul III, who wanted a symbol of the new Rome to impress Charles V, who was expected in 1538. Pope Paul III ( February 29, 1468 &ndash November 10, 1549) born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was

Michelangelo's first designs for the piazza and remodelling of the surrounding palazzos date from 1536. He effectively reversed the classical orientation of the Capitoline, in a symbolic gesture turning Rome’s civic center to face away from the Roman Forum and instead in the direction of Papal Rome and the Christian church in the form of St. Peter’s Basilica. This page refers to the main forum in the center of Rome See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below for other forums in Rome and The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St

The sequence, Cordonata piazza and the central palazzo are the first urban introduction of the "cult of the axis" that was to occupy Italian garden plans and reach fruition in France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ^[2]

Executing the design was slow work: little was actually completed in Michelangelo's lifetime (the ‘’Cordonata’’ was not in place when Emperor Charles arrived, and the imperial party had to scramble up the slope from the Forum to view the works in progress), but work continued faithfully to his designs and the Campidoglio was completed in the 17th century, except for the paving design, which was to be finished three centuries later. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar

Piazza

The bird's-eye view of the engraving by Étienne Dupérac shows Michelangelo's solution to the problems of the space in the Piazza del Campidoglio. Étienne Dupérac or du Pérac (1520 — 1607 was a French painter draughtsman and engraver and a Topographer and Antiquary, who arrived in Rome in 1559 Even with their new facades centering them on the new palazzo at the rear, the space was a trapezoid, and the facades did not face each other squarely. For other meanings (eg the word's use in place names see Palazzo (disambiguation. Worse still, the whole site sloped (to the left in the engraving). Michelangelo's solution was radical. The three remodelled palazzi enclose a harmonious trapezoidal space, approached by the ramped staircase called the "Cordonata". Cordonata ( Italian noun from cordone, meaning "lineal architectonic element which emphasizes a limit" is a sloping road composed of transversal stripes Since no "perfect" forms would work, his apparent oval in the paving is actually egg-shaped, narrower at one end than at the other. The travertine design set into the paving is perfectly level: around its perimeter, low steps arise and die away into the paving as the slope requires. Travertine is a Sedimentary rock. It is a natural chemical precipitate of Carbonate minerals; typically Aragonite, but often recrystallized to Its center springs slightly, so that one senses that one is standing on the exposed segment of a gigantic egg all but buried at the center of the city at the center of the world, as Michelangelo's historian Charles de Tolnay pointed out. ^[3] An interlaced twelve-pointed star makes a subtle reference to the constellations, revolving around this space called Caput mundi, the "head of the world. " This paving design was never executed by the popes, who may have detected a subtext of less-than-Christian import. Benito Mussolini ordered the paving completed to Michelangelo's design — in 1940.

Replica of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an ancient Roman statue in the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy.

Piazza del Campidoglio, on the top of Capitoline Hill, with the façade of Palazzo Senatorio.

Marcus Aurelius

Main article: Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

In the middle, and not to Michelangelo’s liking, stood the only equestrian bronze to have survived since Antiquity, that of Marcus Aurelius. The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an ancient Roman statue in the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (often referred to as "the wise" ( April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor Michelangelo provided an unassuming pedestal for it. The sculpture was held in regard because it was thought to depict Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Emperor. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine The bronze now in position is a modern copy; the original is in the Palazzo dei Conservatori nearby.

Palazzi

Main article: Capitoline Museums

He provided new fronts to the two official buildings of Rome's civic government, the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the Senatorio, and finally the Nuovo. The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio The sole arched motif in the entire Campidoglio design is the segmental pediments over their windows, which give a slight spring to the completely angular vertical-horizontal balance of the design. A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure ( Entablature) typically supported by The three palazzi are now home to the important Capitoline Museums. The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio

Palazzo dei Conservatori

The Palazzo dei Conservatori ("Palace of the Conservators"), originally called the Palazzo Caffarelli, was built in the Middle Ages for the local magistrate on top of a 6th century BC temple dedicated to Jupiter "Maximus Capitolinus". The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. It was the first use of a giant order that spanned two storeys, here with a range of Corinthian pilasters and subsidiary Ionic columns flanking the ground-floor loggia openings and the second-floor windows. In Classical architecture, a giant order is an order whose Columns or Pilasters span two (or more stories The Corinthian order is one of the Classical orders of Greek and Roman Architecture, characterized The Ionic order column forms one of the three '''orders''' or '''organizational systems''' of Classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Loggia is the name given to an Architectural feature originally of Italian design which is often a gallery or Corridor generally on the ground Another giant order would serve later for the exterior of St Peter's Basilica. The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St Its facade was updated by Michelangelo in the 1530s and again later numerous times.

Palazzo Senatorio

Built during the 13th and 14th century, the Palazzo Senatorio ("Senatorial Palace") stands atop the Tabularium that had once housed the archives of ancient Rome. "Tabularium" is the general term for any building containing records Peprino marble blocks from the Tabularium were re-used in the left side of the palace and a corner of the bell tower. It now houses the Roman city hall. A city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a City or Town 's administration and usually houses the city or Its double ramp of stairs were designed by Michelangelo. The fountain in front of the staircase features the river gods of the Tiber and the Nile as well as Dea Roma (Minerva). The Tiber ( Latin Tiberis, Italian Tevere) is the third-longest River in Italy, rising in the Apennine mountains The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River Its bell tower was designed by Martin Longhi the Elder and built between 1578 and 1582. Its current facade was designed by Giacomo della Porta and Girolamo Rainaldi. Giacomo della Porta (c 1533 &ndash 1602 was an Italian architect and sculptor who worked for many important buildings in Rome including St Girolamo Rainaldi ( 1570 - July 15, 1655) was an Italian architect who worked on the whole in a conservative Mannerist style, often

Palazzo Nuovo

To close off the piazza symmetrically and cover up the tower of the Aracoeli, the Palazzo Nuovo, or "New Palace", was constructed in 1603, finished in 1654, and open to the public in 1734. Its facade duplicates to that of Palazzo dei Conservatori. In other words, it is an identical copy made using Michelangelo's blueprint when he redesigned the Palazzo dei Conservatori a century earlier.

A close up of the cordonata on the Capitoline Hill. The steps on the left lead to the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Santa Maria in Aracoeli (" St Mary of the Altar of Heaven " is a titular Basilica church in Rome, located on

Balustrade

A balustrade punctuated by sculptures atop the giant pilasters capped the composition, one of the most influential of Michelangelo's designs. A baluster (according to OED derived through the French balustre, from Italian balaustro, from balaustra, "pomegranate flower" The two massive ancient statues of Castor and Pollux which decorate the balustrades are not the same posed by Michelangelo, which now are in front of the Palazzo del Quirinale

Cordonata

Next to the older and much steeper stairs leading to the Aracoeli, Michelangelo devised a monumental wide ramped stair (the cordonata), gently and gradually ascending the hill to reach the high piazza, so that the Campidoglio resolutely turned its back on the Roman Forum that it had once commanded. The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply the Quirinale) is the Official residence of the President Santa Maria in Aracoeli (" St Mary of the Altar of Heaven " is a titular Basilica church in Rome, located on Cordonata ( Italian noun from cordone, meaning "lineal architectonic element which emphasizes a limit" is a sloping road composed of transversal stripes For the Brazilian footballer see Wilson da Silva Piazza For the American baseball player see Mike Piazza For the coupé car This page refers to the main forum in the center of Rome See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below for other forums in Rome and It was built to be wide enough for horse riders to ascend the hill without dismounting. The railings are topped by the statues of two Egyptian lions in black basalt at their base and the marble renditions of Castor and Pollux at their top. Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. For the stars see Castor (star and Pollux (star, for the sculptural group in the Prado Museum, see Castor and Pollux (Prado, and for

References

External links

• Minosh Photography
• Samuel Ball Platner, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome: Capitoline Hill
• Roman Bookshelf - Views of the Capitoline Hill from the 18th and 19th Century
• Capitoline, The Center of Rome
• The Capitol
• Capitoline Hill with Marco Aurelio statue - 360° Ipix panorama