Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS
The world's oldest national museums, the Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini) oc-
cupy two stately
palazzi
(mansions)on the Michelangelo-designed Piazza del Camp-
idoglio. Their origins date to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a number of bronze
statues to the city, forming the nucleus of what is now one of Italy's finest collections
of classical art. The focus is very much on ancient sculpture, but the museums' pic-
ture gallery also boasts some wonderful works, including a number of great Italian
and Dutch artists.
Palazzo dei Conservatori - 1st Floor
Before you head up to start on the sculpture collection proper, take a moment to admire the
marble body parts littered around the ground-floor
courtyard
. The mammoth head, hand and
