The story of this place
The smallest of Rome's seven hills was its most sacred—home to the great Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, where triumphant generals ended their processions and consuls took office. The word 'capitol' descends from it. In 1536 Pope Paul III commissioned Michelangelo to redesign the neglected summit for the visit of Emperor Charles V; his elegant trapezoidal Piazza del Campidoglio, with its star-patterned pavement and framing palaces, is a masterpiece of Renaissance urbanism. At its centre stands a replica of the ancient bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which survived the Middle Ages only because it was mistaken for the Christian emperor Constantine. The Capitoline Museums here are the world's oldest public museum, opened in 1471.