The Musei Capitolini (Piazza del Campidoglio 1, Rome, on the Capitoline Hill, the western summit, in the twin palaces of the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo flanking Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio) are the oldest public museums in the world: established in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a group of ancient bronze sculptures to the Roman people, including the Spinario (the Thorn-Puller, the Hellenistic bronze of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot), the Lupa Capitolina (the Capitoline Wolf, the bronze she-wolf that 16th-century tradition dated to the 5th century BC but that modern dating has placed in the 11th-13th century AD), and the Portrait of Commodus as Hercules, the collection that formed the nucleus of the Capitoline collection. Public museums in the modern sense (collections specifically designated for public access and instruction) didn't exist before this 1471 act. The Capitoline gift is therefore the origin of the museum as a civic institution.
The Musei Capitolini collection as it stands today encompasses approximately 13,000 works across the two palace buildings, connected underground through the Tabularium (the Roman archive building beneath the Campidoglio, whose arched gallery provides the famous lateral view over the Roman Forum and the Colosseum). The specific highlights that the standard Rome museum circuit consistently underemphasizes: the Marcus Aurelius equestrian statue (the original bronze, inside the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the outdoor version in the piazza is a modern copy). The Capitoline Gaul (the Dying Gaul, the most emotionally powerful single piece in the collection). The Hall of the Philosophers (the 80 portrait busts of Greek philosophers and Roman emperors). And the Tabularium gallery view.
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Musei Capitolini: The Must-See Works
The Marcus Aurelius Equestrian Bronze
The Marcus Aurelius equestrian statue (the bronze original, approximately 176 AD, now inside the Palazzo dei Conservatori in a purpose-built glass enclosure, with the outdoor piazza version being a modern cast copy) is the only surviving ancient Roman large-scale equestrian bronze: every other ancient Roman equestrian statue was melted down for the metal during the early medieval period. The Marcus Aurelius survived because it was misidentified as Constantine (the first Christian emperor), the Christian medieval tradition protected it from destruction on that basis. The specific quality of the bronze: the horse's raised left foreleg (under which, in the medieval tradition, a small golden bird was believed to be hidden, a legend whose origin is uncertain but which gave rise to the prophecy that the world would end when the bird emerged), the Emperor's outstretched right arm in the gesture of clemency or address, and the specific oxidized green-gold surface of the 1,850-year-old bronze.
Musei Capitolini: skip-the-line tickets & guided tours
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See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Tabularium View of the Forum
The Tabularium gallery (the ancient Roman archive building that forms the base of the Campidoglio, accessible from the Palazzo dei Conservatori via the underground connection) has a series of arched windows that look directly over the Roman Forum, the view from inside the Tabularium arch looking toward the Temple of Saturn, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Forum Romanum is one of the most dramatically framed archaeological views available in Rome, and is included in the museum ticket. Most visitors pass through without stopping. Stop at each arch and look at the Forum from the specific elevated and lateral perspective that the Tabularium provides.
Q&A: Musei Capitolini
How long should I allow for the Musei Capitolini?
A thorough visit to both palaces (the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo) and the Tabularium requires 3-4 hours. The collection is genuinely large and the quality consistently high, don't attempt to see everything in a single visit if you want to see anything well. The specific 90-minute visit (for the visitor with limited time): Marcus Aurelius bronze and the Capitoline Wolf (Palazzo dei Conservatori), the Dying Gaul and the Hall of Philosophers (Palazzo Nuovo via the underground passage), the Tabularium forum view. Tickets: book online at museicapitolini.org. Walk-up tickets are available but can involve queuing at peak season. Combined ticket with the Centrale Montemartini (the ancient sculptures displayed among the industrial machines of a former power plant in Ostiense, the most unusual museum installation in Rome) is the recommended extension.
