CAPITOLINE HILL

Description

Essentials about the Capitoline Hill

The Capitol is the name abbreviation of the Capitoline Hill, the second smallest but most important of the seven hills of ancient Rome. As the political and religious center of the city, it became the symbol of Rome’s rule as the “Caput Mundi”, the “head of the world”. Even today, the hill symbolizes the center of Rome and is ideal as a starting point for a visit to the Eternal City. On the Capitol today is the beautiful Capitol Square, designed by Michelangelo, with a copy of the equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, flanked by the Senators’ Palace (which houses the Roman City Hall) and the Conservators’ Palace and the Palazzo Nuovo (which houses the Capitoline Museums).

The name “Capitoline Hill”

The Romans derived the word “Capitolium” from the skull site of the legendary Etruscan king Olus (“caput Oli” – “skull of Olus”), who is said to have been once buried on the hill and whose skull was later found there. However, due to the lack of sources, this etymological explanation cannot be definitively clarified.

The history of and the buildings on the Capitoline Hill

The first settlements on the Capitoline Hill

Excavations of the hill have brought to light traces of a settlement that was established here as early as the Iron Age. For the early settlers, the hill was an ideal location because it was directly on a ford over the Tiber River and its steep, rocky slope provided natural protection from enemies. The hill consists of two knolls of about 1,200 meters in circumference, the 49-meter high Arx to the north and the 46-meter high but more extensive Capitolium to the south. Between the two hilltops there was once a depression called Asylum. Only at a later date did the Romans transfer the name “Capitol” to the entire hill.

The Jupiter Temple

Even before the time of the Republic, Rome’s kings built huge temples on the Capitoline Hill. They became the symbol of Rome’s position as Caput Mundi. The largest and most impressive of these temples was that of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus. The gilded Temple of Jupiter was the most important sanctuary in ancient Rome. It was built in the 6th century BC by Tarquinius Pricus, the first Etruscan king of Rome, on the top of the Capitolium. It measured 53 by 63 meters and was dedicated to three deities: Jupiter Optimus Maximum, Juno Regina and Minerva. As the sacral center of Rome and thus of the entire Roman Empire, the Capitolium also gained political importance. The inauguration of the consuls was always celebrated here with a solemn sacrifice, as was the conclusion of the triumphal processions that regularly led to the Capitol.

The Juno Moneta Temple

The northern peak, the Arx, was for a long time the site of the fortress of Rome. In 344-343 BC, a temple dedicated to the goddess Juno Moneta was built here by order of the city’s military commander-in-chief Marcus Furius Camillus. For the explanation of the name “Moneta” – possibly derived from the Latin word “monere” (in English “to warn” or “to admonish”) – exists one of the most famous legends of Rome. It is said that in 387 B.C. the sacred geese of the sanctuary of Juno warned the city of a Gallic assault by noticing the nocturnal attack and waking up the Romans with their chattering. Incidentally, another word that is still very significant today is also derived from “moneta”: since the Roman mint stood “ad monetam”, i.e. near the temple of Juno Moneta, the word for money in many languages is derived from “moneta”.

The Tarpeian rocks and the Tabularium

In addition to these two temples, numerous other altars for various deities and sometimes colossal statues adorned the Capitol. Another important place is the Tarpeian Rock, located at the southern tip of the Capitol, where death sentences were carried out by pushing the condemned off the rock. And in addition, the Tabularium, the location of the state archives, was located between the Temple of Jupiter and the Temple of Juno. The large structure comprised several floors with colonnades overlooking the Roman Forum.

The redesign of the Capitoline Hill by Michelangelo

After the unprecedented decline of Rome in the Middle Ages and the sacking of the city in the early 16th century, the Capitol lay in ruins and was even used as a goat pasture, which gave it the name “Monte Caprino”, the “Goat Hill”. In the 16th century, however, the Renaissance helped Rome’s splendor to blossom again, and with it came a complete transformation of its center.

The decisive impetus for the redesign of the area came from Pope Paul III, who, on the occasion of a visit by Emperor V, was ashamed of the state of the square. He entrusted the overall direction of the project to none other than Michelangelo, who was busy working on the Sistine Chapel. This first major architectural commission in Rome for the brilliant sculptor, painter and master builder turned out to be one of the greatest creations of the late Renaissance.

The Piazza del Campidoglio and the three palaces

On the still clearly visible foundations of the Tabularium today stands the Senators’ Palace, the Roman City Hall. In the filled up depression there is the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square) designed by Michelangelo with a copy of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Conservatorial Palace and the Palazzo Nuovo (both are now part of the Capitoline Museums). The Piazza del Campidoglio as we know it today has nothing to do with the function and the derived importance of the Capitol as a religious center of power. The square, situated between the two hilltops, is an example of a square designed according to modern, that is, not Roman-ancient plans. The square as such turns away from the former center of the city, the Roman Forum located behind the Senators’ Palace, and turns towards the new center, the Vatican.

The symbolism of the Capitoline Hill

Michelangelo planned a public banquet hall that glorifies antiquity and pays tribute to its formal language in the layout of the palazzi. By building the Palazzo Nuovo, Michelangelo created a public space that is at once open and closed. The trapezoidal layout opens on both sides of the Senator’s Palace and leads over to the forum. In the paving is a multibeamed star, the universe, with the sun and the emperor in the center.

Michelangelo thus represented the self-image of ancient Rome: Caput mundi, head of the world, with the emperor as the central figure. This self-image was adopted by the popes in the Renaissance. The unique equestrian statue shows the greatest philosopher among the emperors, Marcus Aurelius. The luck of this unique preserved equestrian statue was a mix-up. In the Middle Ages, all of the 22 other equestrian portraits fell victim to metal greed. This statue survived because it was mistaken for an effigy of the first Christian emperor, Constantine.

The equestrian statue of Mark Aurel

Today, only a copy of Marcus Aurelius’ equestrian statue remains in the square. Pollution had affected the original so much that it was removed in the 1980s and placed in the Capitoline Museums. The pedestal on which the equestrian statue stands is a creation of Michelangelo, as is the flight of steps leading to the Senator’s Palace. At the foot of the ramp to the Senator’s Palace, he placed an ancient statue in the niche above the fountain. This sculpture once represented Minerva, who was transformed into the goddess Roma during the Renaissance. Flanking Roma are two statues from the 2nd century AD, symbolizing the Nile and the Tiber.