Capitoline Museums

Last updated
Capitoline Museums
Musei Capitolini
Capitolio9.jpg
The Capitoline Museums in Rome in 2007
Capitoline Museums
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Established1734 (1734) open to public, 1471 (1471) bronzes donated by Pope Sixtus IV to the people of Rome
LocationPiazza del Campidoglio 1, 00186 Rome, Italy
Coordinates 41°53′35″N12°28′58″E / 41.8931°N 12.4828°E / 41.8931; 12.4828
Type Archaeology, art museum, historic site
DirectorMaria Vittoria Marini Clarelli
Website www.museicapitolini.org

The Capitoline Museums (Italian : Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, facing on the central trapezoidal piazza in a plan conceived by Michelangelo in 1536 and executed over a period of more than 400 years.

Contents

History

The history of the museum can be traced to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of important ancient bronzes to the people of Rome and located them on the Capitoline Hill. Since then, the museums' collection has grown to include many ancient Roman statues, inscriptions, and other artifacts; a collection of medieval and Renaissance art; and collections of jewels, coins, and other items. The museums are owned and operated by the municipality of Rome.

The statue of a mounted rider in the centre of the piazza is of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is a copy, the original being housed on-site in the Capitoline museum.

Opened to the public in 1734 under Clement XII, the Capitoline Museums are considered one of the oldest museums in the world, understood as a place where art could be enjoyed by all and not only by the owners. [1] [2]

In 2016, the museum enclosed several of its nude statues in white-colored wooden panels ahead of a meeting between Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that it hosted. The move was criticized by Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini as "incomprehensible," while the museum said that it had done so following a request from the prime minister's office, although Franceschini said that the government had not been informed of the matter in advance. Rouhani also denied asking Italian officials to cover up the artefacts but expressed his thanks to his hosts for making his visit "as pleasant as possible". [3]

Buildings

Palazzo Senatorio Musei Capitolini 20150812.jpg
Palazzo Senatorio
Palazzo Nuovo Musei Capitolini - Rome, Italy - DSC06268.jpg
Palazzo Nuovo

This section contains collections sorted by building, and brief information on the buildings themselves. For the history of their design and construction, see Capitoline Hill#Michelangelo.

The Capitoline Museums are composed of three main buildings surrounding the Piazza del Campidoglio and interlinked by an underground gallery beneath the piazza.

The three main buildings of the Capitoline Museums are:

In addition, the 16th century Palazzo Caffarelli-Clementino, located off the piazza adjacent to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, was added to the museum complex in the early 20th century.

Palazzo dei Conservatori

The collections here are ancient sculpture, mostly Roman but also Greek and Egyptian.

Main staircase

Features the relief from the honorary monument to Marcus Aurelius.

2nd floor

The second floor of the building is occupied by the Conservator's Apartment, a space now open to the public and housing such famous works as the bronze she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, which has become the emblem of Rome. The Conservator's Apartment is distinguished by elaborate interior decorations, including frescoes, stuccos, tapestries, and carved ceilings and doors.

3rd floor

The third floor of the Palazzo dei Conservatori houses the Capitoline Art Gallery, housing the museums' painting and applied art galleries. The Capitoline Coin Cabinet, containing collections of coins, medals, jewels, and jewelry, is located in the attached Palazzo Caffarelli-Clementino.

Palazzo Nuovo

Palazzo Nuovo Galeria-capitolino.jpg
Palazzo Nuovo

Statues, inscriptions, sarcophagi, busts, mosaics, and other ancient Roman artifacts occupy two floors of the Palazzo Nuovo.

In the Hall of the Galatian can also be appreciated the marble statue of the "Dying Gaul" also called "Capitoline Gaul" and the statue of Cupid and Psyche . Also housed in this building are:

Galleria di Congiunzione

The Galleria di Congiunzione is located beneath the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the piazza itself, and links the three palazzos sitting on the piazza. The gallery was constructed in the 1930s. It contains in situ 2nd century ruins of ancient Roman dwellings, and also houses the Galleria Lapidaria, which displays the Museums' collection of epigraphs.

New wing

The new great glass covered hall the Sala Marco Aurelio created by covering the Giardino Romano is similar to the one used for the Sala Ottagonale and British Museum Great Court. The 1996 design is by the architect Carlo Aymonino. Its volume recalls that of the oval space designed by Michelangelo for the piazza.

Its centerpiece is the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which was once in the centre of Piazza del Campidoglio and has been kept indoors ever since its modern restoration. Moving these statues out of the palazzo allows those sculptures temporarily moved to the Centrale Montemartini to be brought back. It also houses the remaining fragments of the bronze colossus of Constantine and the archaeological remains of the tuff foundations of the temple of Capitoline Jupiter, with a model, drawn and computer reconstructions and finds dating from the earliest occupation on the site (in the mid Bronze Age: 17th-14th centuries B.C.) to the foundation of the temple (6th century BC).

In the three halls adjacent to the Appartamento dei Conservatori are to be found the showcases of the famous Castellani Collection with a part of the set of Greek and Etruscan vases that was donated to the municipality of Rome by Augusto Castellani in the mid-19th century.

Centrale Montemartini

The Centrale Montemartini [4] is a former power station of Acea (active as a power-station between the 1890s and 1930s) in southern Rome, between Piramide and the basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, close to the Metro station Garbatella.

In 1997, the Centrale Montemartini was adapted to temporarily accommodate a part of the antique sculpture collection of the Capitoline museums, at that time closed for renovation; the temporary exhibition was so appreciated that the venue was eventually converted into a permanent museum. [5]

Its permanent collection comprises 400 ancient statues, moved here during the reorganisation of the Capitoline Museums in 1997, along with tombs, busts, and mosaics. Many of them were excavated in the ancient Roman horti (e.g. the Gardens of Sallust) between the 1890s and 1930s, a fruitful period for Roman archaeology. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitoline Hill</span> One of the seven hills of Rome, Italy

The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius</span> Classical sculpture in Rome

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an ancient Roman equestrian statue on the Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy. It is made of bronze and stands 4.24 m tall. Although the emperor is mounted, the sculpture otherwise exhibits many similarities to the standing statues of Augustus. The original is on display in the Capitoline Museums, while the sculpture now standing in the open air at the Piazza del Campidoglio is a replica made in 1981 when the original was taken down for restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piazza del Campidoglio</span> Square in Rome, Italy

Piazza del Campidoglio is a public square (piazza) on the top of the ancient Capitoline Hill, between the Roman Forum and the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The square includes three main buildings, the Palazzo Senatorio also known as the Comune di Roma Capitale, and the two palaces that make up the Capitoline Museums, the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, considered to be one of the oldest national museums, founded in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated some of the museum's most impressive statues, the She-wolf, the Spinario, the Camillus and the colossal head of emperor Constantine. Over the centuries the museums' collection has grown to include many of ancient Roman's finest artworks and artifacts. If something was considered too valuable or fragile in Rome and a copy was made in its place for display, the original is likely now on display in the Capitoline Museum.The hilltop square was designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century. at the behest of Pope Paul III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campitelli</span> Rione of Rome in Lazio, Italy

Campitelli is the 10th rione of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. X, and is located in the Municipio I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giacomo della Porta</span> Italian architect (1532–1602)

Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman sculpture</span> Sculpture of ancient Rome

The study of Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the Apollo Belvedere and Barberini Faun, are known only from Roman Imperial or Hellenistic "copies". At one time, this imitation was taken by art historians as indicating a narrowness of the Roman artistic imagination, but, in the late 20th century, Roman art began to be reevaluated on its own terms: some impressions of the nature of Greek sculpture may in fact be based on Roman artistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Nazionale Romano</span> Museum in Rome, Italy

The National Roman Museum is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological findings from the period of Ancient Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitoline Wolf</span> Bronze sculpture of a she-wolf suckling twin infants, inspired by the founding legend of Rome

The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze sculpture depicting a scene from the legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture shows a she-wolf suckling the mythical twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. According to the legend, when King Numitor, grandfather of the twins, was overthrown by his brother Amulius in Alba Longa, the usurper ordered them to be cast into the Tiber River. They were rescued by a she-wolf that cared for them until a herdsman, Faustulus, found and raised them.

<i>Esquiline Venus</i> Size Roman nude marble sculpture

The Esquiline Venus, depicting the goddess Venus, is a smaller-than-life-size Roman nude marble sculpture of a female in sandals and a diadem headdress. It is widely viewed as a 1st-century AD Roman copy of a Greek original from the 1st century BC. It is also a possible depiction of the Ptolemaic ruler Cleopatra VII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hercules of the Forum Boarium</span>

Hercules of the Forum Boarium is one of two gilded bronze statues of Hercules found on the site of the Forum Boarium of ancient Rome. The two statues were both placed in the Palazzo Dei Conservatori for safe keeping in 1950 and remain there today. The Hercules of Forum Boarium was likely to have been a cult image of Temple of Hercules that stood by the ancient cattle market.

<i>Colossus of Constantine</i> 4th-century acrolithic statue, 12 m. tall

The Colossus of Constantine was a many times life-size acrolithic early-4th-century statue depicting the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, commissioned by himself, which originally occupied the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius on the Via Sacra, near the Forum Romanum in Rome. Surviving portions of the Colossus now reside in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, now part of the Capitoline Museums, on the Capitoline Hill, above the west end of the Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baths of Constantine (Rome)</span>

Baths of Constantine was a public bathing complex built on Rome's Quirinal Hill, beside the Tiber River, by Constantine I, probably before 315.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horti Liciniani</span>

The Horti Liciniani was a luxurious complex of an ancient Roman villa with large gardens and outdoor rooms originally belonging to the gens Licinia. It was located in Rome on the Esquiline Hill between via Labicana and via Prenestina, close to the Aurelian walls. They bordered the Horti Tauriani to the north and the Horti Pallantiani and Horti Epaphroditiani to the west.

<i>Medusa</i> (Bernini) Sculpture by Gianlorenzo Bernini

Medusa is a marble sculpture of the eponymous character from the classical myth. It was executed by the Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Its precise date of creation is unknown, but it is likely to have been executed in the 1640s. It was first documented in 1731 when presented to the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome, and is now part of the collections of the Capitoline Museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace of Justice, Rome</span> Building in Rome, Italy

The Palace of Justice, colloquially nicknamed il Palazzaccio, is the seat of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Judicial Public Library of Italy. It is located in the Prati district of Rome, facing Piazza dei Tribunali, Via Triboniano, Piazza Cavour, and Via Ulpiano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capitoline Brutus</span> Ancient Roman bronze bust

The Capitoline Brutus is an ancient Roman bronze bust traditionally but probably wrongly thought to be an imagined portrait of the Roman consul Lucius Junius Brutus. The bust has long been dated to the late 4th to early 3rd centuries BC, but is perhaps as late as the 2nd century BC, or early 1st century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian portrait</span> Genre of portraiture

An equestrian portrait is a portrait that shows the subject on horseback. Equestrian portraits suggest a high-status sitter, who in many cases was a monarch or other member of the nobility, and the portraits can also carry a suggestion of chivalry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crepereia Tryphaena</span>

Crepereia Tryphaena was a young Roman woman, presumably about 20 years old, whose sarcophagus was found during the excavation works started in 1889 for the foundations of the Palace of Justice and for the construction of the Umberto I bridge over the Tiber in Rome. Among the items found in her sarcophagus were pieces of a funeral outfit, including a sculpted doll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronze colossus of Constantine</span> 326 CE bronze statue, 11 meters tall

The Capitoline Museums in Rome hold parts of a bronze colossus of Constantine. The colossal statue of a Roman emperor was probably made in the 4th century but only fragments survive. It is usually interpreted as depicting Constantine the Great.

References

  1. AA. VV. Roma e dintorni, edito dal T.C.I. nel 1977, pag. 83. ISBN   88-365-0016-1. Sandra Pinto, in Roma, edito dal gruppo editoriale L'Espresso su licenza del T.C.I. nel 2004, pag. 443. ISBN   88-365-0016-1. AA. VV. La nuova enciclopedia dell'arte Garzanti, Garzanti editore, 2000, ISBN   88-11-50439-2, alla voce "museo".
  2. Iordanidou, Chrysavgi. "Daylight openings in art museum galleries: A link between art and the outdoor environment". (2017).
  3. "Critics Assail Italy for Hiding Nude Statues During Rouhani Visit". VOA. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. Centrale Montemartini Archived October 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Centrale Montemartini". Inexhibit magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  6. "Classical art & industrial archaeology". likealocalguide.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
Preceded by
Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum
Landmarks of Rome
Capitoline Museums
Succeeded by
Casa di Goethe