Capitoline Museums
Capitoline Museums
Musei Capitolini
GREAT SCULPTURES AND PAINTINGS
Spread over three buildings, the Capitoline Museums, or Musei Capitolini, are home to an incredible collection of sculptures. Fancy getting up close to the great head from the Colossus of Constantine or the Capitoline She-wolf? Then this is the place for you. There’s also a good collection of paintings and lots more besides.
My Rating:
The positives:
The extensive sculpture collection across three buildings is fantastic, especially the enormous head from the Colossus of Constantine and the Capitoline She-wolf, which are not to be missed!
The negatives:
I was a bit disappointed by the painting collection, although I did find some works by Rubens and Caravaggio. The Palazzo dei Conservatori is also a bit of a maze – the signage is definitely in need of improvement!
Last Modified: 14.01.2025 | Céline
Capitoline Museums
Tickets
Note: The multimedia ticket of the agencies (Tiqets, GetYourGuide and also Museument) is very expensive! Please note that. The agency ticket does include a so-called “Multimedia Experience Ancient Rome”, but I don’t know if you really “need” it.
But: frankly, the official site doesn’t make it easy to find the right ticket: There are currently 6 different price options! With exhibition, without, before the end of January, from February…
The details
at a glance
Prices
Various combinations at the moment!
Exhibition + Museum:
from EUR 16.50 for adults.
Roma Pass
The Capitoline Museums are on the list of museums and sights you can visit with the Roma Pass.
The Roma Pass is valid for 48 or 72 hours.
-> Find out more about the Roma Pass
The Roma Pass is also included with the 72-hour Omnia Card.
-> Find out more about the Omnia Card
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Capitoline Museums
Photo Gallery
What is there
to see?
The Capitoline Museums are housed in three buildings on the Capitoline Hill. They boast several collections of ancient artwork and artefacts, as well as a collection of paintings.
In the Palazzo dei Conservatori you will find the remains of the enormous Colossus of Constantine, the Capitoline She-wolf and the famous Greco-Roman sculpture ‘Spinario’, which depicts a boy pulling a thorn from his foot. The palace also houses the painting gallery, which includes ‘Saint John the Baptist’ by Caravaggio and ‘Romulus and Remus’ by Rubens.
On the other side of the piazza lies the Palazzo Nuovo, where you can see many Ancient Roman portraits and also ‘Marforio’, the famous sculpture of a reclining river god, which is one of the six talking statues of Rome.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t visit the Tabularium because it was closed when I was there. I’ve heard it offers a wonderful view over the Roman Forum though, so hopefully you’ll have more luck than me! If not, I’d recommend stopping at the café in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, which has a great view of the city from the second floor.
Constantine the Great
find out more
Reconstruction of Constantine
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The Capitoline She-wolf
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A bit of history
find out more
THE GIANT SCULPTURE
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT
Constantine the Great (270/288 AD – 337 AD) was Roman emperor and promoter of the Christian faith from 306 to 337 AD. In short: Constantine was perhaps the most important emperor of Rome for Christianity. He ended the persecution of Christians and religious freedom was introduced.
He carried out further domestic reforms and stabilised foreign policy. Nevertheless, his reign is controversial. From 324, he moved his seat to the East – to Constantinople, today’s Istanbul. His life, his politics and his attitude towards Christianity with all its facets can of course not be described here. But fortunately there is relevant literature or Wikipedia 😉
The colossal statue
The colossal statue, which cannot be overlooked in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, was originally 12 metres high… Truly colossal! At 1.72 metres, I look really tiny next to it!
Constantine himself commissioned the statue as a demonstration of victory after his battle at the Milvian Bridge against his rival Maxentius. You can get an impression of this battle in Raphael’s Stanzas in the Vatican Museums!
The huge sculpture originally stood in the Basilica of Maxentius, the ruins of which can still be seen today in the Roman Forum. The height of the basilica emphasises the idea of the size of the statue. The height was intended to portray Constantine as a deified emperor. He also carried a sceptre in his left hand and wore a paludamentum, a general’s cloak that fell over his shoulders and down his legs.
He must also have worn something on his head, as the rectangular holes suggest. Today, only a few fragments remain: the head, both feet and a hand and parts of the arms and legs. These were discovered during excavations in the 15th century. Stand next to the remains and have your photo taken – it’s really surprising and overwhelming how small you look next to them. The fact that he wanted to portray himself as a divine and enraptured emperor is completely understandable. How did the Romans feel back then? They didn’t know skyscrapers etc. yet!
UNTIL DECEMBER 2025
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CONSTANTINE
In the garden of the Capitoline Museum – in the garden of Villa Caffarelli – you can see for yourself what colossal really means. Here stands a 13-metre-high statue of Emperor Constantine. It is a reconstruction of an original from the 4th century, of which only fragments have been found to date.
With the help of a 3D printer, it has been possible to build the statue in its original dimensions. It is truly impressive what power and greatness (in the truest sense of the word) emperors had in ancient times. Viewing the statue is free of charge, no tickets for the museum are required.
THE CAPITOLINE
WOLFIN
The Lupa-Capitolina is probably the symbol of Rome. This is because it is probably the most famous foundation story in the world.
The she-wolf suckling Romolus and Remus is therefore very important to the Romans… The she-wolf already adorned coins and reliefs during the Empire, and the birthplace of Romolus and Remus was even maintained as a historical site back then and is therefore still preserved today! You can find the ruins on the Palatine Hill in the Roman Forum. Today, of course, they cannot be entered and are protected from the wind and weather by a corrugated roof.
The legend of Romulus and Remus
The first mention of a Rhomylos is in connection with Aeneas – a mythological figure who is said to be the father of this Rhomoylos. As a result, many historians wrote down the legend – sometimes with different sequences.
The historian Fabius Pictor tells the legend as follows: King Amulius from the Alban Hills had disempowered his brother Numitor Silvius and placed his daughter Rhea Silva in a temple of the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins were virginal and above all chaste women. But one day, Rhea Silvia gave birth to twins! And they were supposed to be from Mars, the god of war. Amulius therefore had Rhea thrown into the Tiber and set the twins adrift on a raft.
But the river god Tiber rescued Rhea and married her. The children ended up stranded at the foot of the Palatine and a she-wolf – an animal dedicated to Mars – approached them. But instead of attacking the two children, the she-wolf suckled them! The shepherd Faustulus eventually found the two and raised them. But the legend doesn’t end there. When Romulus and Remus were old enough, they killed their great-uncle and installed their grandfather as king. And they wanted to found a new city. But when they couldn’t agree on who should rule this new city, Romulus killed his brother and that’s why Rome is now called “Rome” and not “Rem” 😉
The sculpture looks ancient, but it’s probably not…
In the 18th century, it was still thought that this sculpture was an Etruscan sculpture – i.e. from the 5th century BC. However, the latest investigations – which have not yet been finalised – suggest that it is a sculpture created between the 9th and 13th centuries AD. The two children can even be clearly identified as a Renaissance work by Antonio Pollaiulo!
Capitoline Museums
A bit of history
The Capitoline Museums claim to be the oldest museum in the world. The reason?
In 1471, Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of ancient bronze sculptures to the people and city of Rome. The collection – which included the Capitoline She-wolf, Spinario and the great head and hand from the Colossus of Constantine – was displayed on the Capitoline Hill, the heart of Ancient Rome and centre of the medieval administration at the time.
In the centuries that followed, more and more sculptures – and later also paintings – were purchased or donated to the city. The vast collection was amassed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori until 1654 when the Palazzo Nuovo was built and the many works were split across multiple buildings.
Although the museum has its origins in the 15th century, the Capitoline Museums were only officially opened in 1734.
(I’ll have to do a bit more research to check whether, despite this, they can still be considered the oldest museum in the world, as I thought that accolade belonged to the Louvre!)
The painting gallery was officially opened in the middle of the 18th century. In the years that followed, the interior of the Palazzo dei Conservatori was renovated and redesigned many times. Ultimately, however, there just wasn’t enough space, so the Tabularium was opened to the public and used to house some of the many works of art.
In 1997, while parts of the museum were under renovation, some pieces were also moved to the Centrale Montemartini. This temporary exhibition space – located a little further afield in the Testaccio district of Rome – proved such a success that in 2005 it was made an official part of the Capitoline Museums.
That same year, the Palazzo Clementino, which adjoins the Palazzo dei Conservatori, was also incorporated into the museum. Among the highlights on display in its newly renovated galleries is the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
Official website (EN): museicapitolini.org
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2016 – 2025
