Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GOOGLE MAP
on the right. Together, Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei Conservatori house
the Capitoline Museums, while Palazzo Senatorio is home to Rome's city council.
The original, which dates from the 2nd century AD, is in the Capitoline Museums.
CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS
See
Click here
.
MUSEUM
CHIESA DI SANTA MARIA IN ARACOELI
( Piazza Santa Maria in Aracoeli; 9am-12.30pm & 2.30-5.30pm; Piazza Venezia )
Atop the 14th-cen-
tury Aracoeli staircase on the highest point of the Campidoglio, this 6th-century
Romanesque church boasts an impressive Cosmatesque floor and an important 15th-cen-
tury fresco by Pinturicchio. But its main claim to fame is a much-loved wooden baby Je-
sus believed to have healing powers.
In fact, the Jesus doll is a copy. The original, which was supposedly made of wood
from the garden of Gethsemane, was pinched in 1994 and never recovered.
The church sits on the site of the Roman temple to Juno Moneta and has long had an as-
sociation with the nativity. According to legend, it was here that the Tiburtine Sybil told
Augustus of the coming birth of Christ.
CHURCH
Piazza Venezia
IL VITTORIANO
( Piazza Venezia; 9.30am-5.30pm summer, to 4.30pm winter; Piazza Venezia)
F
Love it or loathe it
(as most locals do), you can't ignore the massive mountain of white marble that towers
over Piazza Venezia. Known also as the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), it
was begun in 1885 to commemorate Italian unification and honour Victor Emmanuel II,
Italy's first king and the subject of its vast equestrian statue.
The monument also hosts the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
and, inside, the
Museo Centrale del
Risorgiment
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(Via di San Pietro in Carcere; 9.30am-6.30pm)
, a free museum
documenting Italian unification, and the
Complesso del Vittoriano
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
MONUMENT
06
depends on exhibition)
, a gallery space that regularly hosts
678 06 64; Via di San Pietro in Carcere;
major art exhibitions.
