Campidoglio square is situated on top of the hill of Campidoglio in Rome
and it is one of the most beautiful square of the world.
The public square was planned by Michelangelo Buonarroti who designed it in all particular features, paving included. The square has also a particular plant, because Michelangelo built the palaces to create a perspective.
Michelangelo redesigned completely the square, making to turn it towards the Basilica of Saint Pietro, which represented the new political centre of the city. He thought to build a new palace, called New Palace in order to close the perspective towards the Church of Saint Maria in Ara Coeli and he redesigned the Palace of the Conservatives deleting all the medieval structures, harmonizing it with the Senatorio Palace to which he added a double staircase which was important in order to approach the new income, not turned towards the Fori but towards the square; Buonarroti planned also the staircase of the Cordonata and the balustrade facing on Ara Coeli square.
The statue of Mark Aurelio in golden bronze, previously situated in Saint Giovanni in Laterano square, came to the centre of this square according to Paul III’s wish; the original statue, after a long restoration that also has brought back the gilding traces, today it is conserved in the Capitolini Museums, while on the square there is its copy.
The Cordonata is adorned with various sculptor works: to the base there are the statues of two lions; towards the half of this there is the statue of Cola di Rienzo; on the top of the staircase there are the statues of Castore and Polluce, coming from from a temple of the Dioscuri in the Flaminio Circus and two marble trophies, called the Trophies of Mario, coming from the ninfeo of Vittorio square.
The Senatorio Palace is today the centre of the Common of Rome, while the Capitolini Museums, opened in 1735 (one of the oldest museum of the world) are situated in the other two palaces, linked by a gallery, the Lapidaria Gallery.



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