Capitoline

Capitoline refers to Capitoline Hill in Rome, one of the city’s Seven Hills, and to the surrounding institutions and collections that bear its name. The hill occupies the western edge of the Forum Romanum, overlooking the Roman Forum and the Tiber River. The name derives from Latin Capitolinus.

In antiquity, Capitoline Hill was the religious and political heart of Rome. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus stood on the summit, serving as the religious center of the Republic and later Empire; the hill also housed key political spaces and monuments, including the Rostrum and the city’s central administration.

In the 16th century, Michelangelo redesigned the Piazza del Campidoglio on the hill to serve as a ceremonial space linking governance and art. The piazza is approached by a two-terraced staircase and is flanked by the Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, two of the Capitoline Museums. A third building, the Palazzo Senatorio, stands at the top and hosts the city government.

The Capitoline Museums, established in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection from the Temple of Capitoline, are among the oldest public museums in the world. The museums house a range of classical sculptures, inscriptions, and the Capitoline Wolf, a bronze she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, as well as the famous Marcus Aurelius equestrian statue.

Today, Capitoline Hill remains a symbol of Rome’s ancient heritage and its modern civic life. The architectural ensemble and the art collections draw visitors and scholars, linking antiquity with the Renaissance and the present-day city administration.