The Capitoline Museums ( Italian: Musei Capitolini ) is the oldest public [1] museum in the world, launched by Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 , donating to the “people of Rome ” a collection of antique bronze that was previously placed under the walls of Lateran .
Buildings
Museums are housed in three palaces on the designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti Capitol Square in Rome: the medieval Senatorial Palace , the rebuilt Michelangelo Renaissance Palazzo of the Conservatives and the new palace of the 17th century repeating its appearance. In the XX century, part of the constantly replenishing exposition was moved to the neighboring Palazzo Caffarelli-Clementino.
The Palazzo dei Conservatory is mentioned in many books on the history of art as the first building, during the reconstruction of which a giant order was applied - pilasters , stretching over several floors. The architectural motifs of this palazzo are noticeable in the buildings of different times on different continents (e.g., Leningradsky railway station in Moscow).
An exact copy of the only equestrian statue that has been preserved since antiquity is installed on Capitol Square - the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius , who was mistakenly mistaken for Emperor Constantine in the Middle Ages.
The museum houses the original statue, which is a symbol of Rome - the she- wolf , feeding the twins Romulus and Remus . A copy of this sculpture is mounted to the left of the central building on a tall column.
Notes
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Capitoline Museums
- Museum Official Website (English) (Spanish) (Italian) (French)
- Photos of works from the Capitoline Museums on the site ancientrome.ru (Russian)