Roman landmarks of the euro coinage - 50 Eurocents

	Capitolium Square featured on the 50 Eurocents coin and on all 2 Euro coins commemorating the Treaty of Rome

The Capitolium is the smallest among Rome's famous seven hills, yet the most important one, because the very first nucleus of the city was born here, encircled by a primitive defensive wall, to protect the early inhabitants from hostile tribes that dwelt on the surrounding hills. Its top has the shape of a double peak: the tallest of the two is located slightly west of the present square, while the other one, almost adjacent to the square's opposite side, corresponds to the site of the ancient church called Santa Maria in Aracoeli. The social and religious importance of the Capitolium Hill kept growing, particularly during the Republican Age. A number of temples were built here, among which the one of Capitolium Jupiter, actually dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, which stood on the highest spot of the hill and was considered Rome's most sacred place of worship: among the several hundreds of temples built in the ancient city, it acted almost as a cathedral.		present view of Capitolium Square

The hill overlooks the area where the Roman Forum stood; in ancient times its top could be accessed from the same side, i.e. looking south (opposite to the present approach), which used to be less steep than its present shape.

		During the Middle Ages, when the temples had crumbled and almost every trace of the ancient Roman civilization had disappeared from this site, the Capitolium was nicknamed Monte Caprino ("goat hill"), after the custom of grazing goats and other animals all over the place. However, in the 7th century the first church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli was founded there. Before the making of Senators Palace (see further), this church acted as a town hall: the city administrators used it for their meetings. The church was rebuilt in c.1320 into its present shape, while its steep marble staircase with 122 steps was built for the Jubilee Year of 1350. ← Capitolium Hill and its buildings (arrow) in a map of Rome dated 1472

The first important civil building to stand again here was Palazzo Senatorio (Senators Palace), built in the 12th century over the remains of the Tabularium, ancient Rome's state archive.

The latter was located at the northern end of the Roman Forum (right); it had been used for some time as a salt deposit and then turned into a jail. Of its original six tall arches that face the Forum, only three are still open: in the early 1400s pope Martin V had half of them filled up, to prevent the outer wall from crumbling under the weight of the building above. Palazzo Senatorio was built as a seat for the new board of officers called Senators, founded in 1143-44, which took away from the pope the authority over the city's administrative affairs. As most other late medieval buildings, also this one was partly conceived as a fortress, with towers in three out of four corners, added between the late 1300s and the mid 1400s, besides the original central one. But its front was already turned towards the north, i.e. facing the square, whereas the old Tabularium overlooked the Roman Forum, at the back of the palace.	the back of Palazzo Senatorio, resting on the ancient Tabularium at the northern end of the Roman Forum

The latter was located at the northern end of the Roman Forum (right); it had been used for some time as a salt deposit and then turned into a jail. Of its original six tall arches that face the Forum, only three are still open: in the early 1400s pope Martin V had half of them filled up, to prevent the outer wall from crumbling under the weight of the building above.
Palazzo Senatorio was built as a seat for the new board of officers called Senators, founded in 1143-44, which took away from the pope the authority over the city's administrative affairs.
As most other late medieval buildings, also this one was partly conceived as a fortress, with towers in three out of four corners, added between the late 1300s and the mid 1400s, besides the original central one. But its front was already turned towards the north, i.e. facing the square, whereas the old Tabularium overlooked the Roman Forum, at the back of the palace.

the back of Palazzo Senatorio, and the ancient Tabularium
on which it rests, close the end of the Roman Forum

the back of Palazzo Senatorio, resting on the ancient Tabularium
at the northern end of the Roman Forum

	In those years public trials were held in a hall on the left side of Palazzo Senatorio, that could be reached from the square by means of a ramp. By the entrance of the hall stood an ancient sculpture of a lion attacking a horse, where executions were often held: it was known by the people as "the place of the lion"; during the Middle Ages, not a she-wolf but a lion was featured in Rome's coat of arms. This group is presently in the courtyard of Palazzo Caffarelli (left), at the back of Palazzo dei Conservatori and now part of the Capitoline Museums. On the right side of Capitolium Square, at square angles with Palazzo Senatorio, stood Palazzo dei Banderesi, the headquarters of the city police corps that had been established in the mid 1300s.

In those years public trials were held in a hall on the left side of Palazzo Senatorio, that could be reached from the square by means of a ramp. By the entrance of the hall stood an ancient sculpture of a lion attacking a horse, where executions were often held: it was known by the people as "the place of the lion"; during the Middle Ages, not a she-wolf but a lion was featured in Rome's coat of arms. This group is presently in the courtyard of Palazzo Caffarelli (left), at the back of Palazzo dei Conservatori and now part of the Capitoline Museums.

On the right side of Capitolium Square, at square angles with Palazzo Senatorio, stood Palazzo dei Banderesi, the headquarters of the city police corps that had been established in the mid 1300s.

Instead opposite Palazzo dei Banderesi, the site was open (picture on the right); it adjoined the side of the medieval church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli and its convent by means of a flight of steps. Up to 1535, by the staircase stood a small ancient Egyptian obelisk, topped by a bronze globe (far right end of the drawing), whose description can be found in the Obelisks monograph. Capitolium Square began to achieve its present look during the first half of the 1500s, when Pope Paul III (1534-49) gave Michelangelo the commission to draw a new plan for the site; in 1536 the king of Germany and Holy Roman emperor Charles V had payed an official visit to the pope, who on that occasion had felt ashamed for the state of abandonment of the site.		the right side of the square in the early 1500s (by M.van Heemskerck): in the background stands Santa Maria in Aracoeli's church and the small obelisk (far right) is still there

The new layout of the square included the enlargement of Palazzo Senatorio, the making of new buildings on both sides and the arrangement of a number of statues.
The picture below features the spot around 1545, while the works were still in progress.

Palazzo Senatorio under reconstruction, lacking its new right half.

The central tower of the building still had a medieval shape.

The left half of the staircase was almost finished.

Palazzo dei Banderesi, altered during the second half of the 1500s, and renamed Pal. dei Conservatori.

The statue for the right half of the staircase, temporarily parked on one side of the square.

The statue of Marcus Aurelius, which had been moved here from the Lateran.

The left side of the square was still bare; the making of Palazzo Nuovo only started in 1644.

Palazzo Senatorio was refurbished inside and its front was changed according to the Renaissance fashion. When Michelangelo died (1564) the works were still in progress; architects Giacomo Della Porta and Girolamo Rainaldi, who took over the workshop, also added a few changes and completed the building in 1605.

the square in a map of Rome by Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1561)

the square in 1561, in a map of Rome by G.A.Dosio

The double staircase on the front is the only part entirely consistent with Michelangelo's original project, who also drew the long flight of stairs leading to the square from the bottom of the Capitolium. This staircase climbs along the north side of the hill, opposite the Roman Forum: since the late 1400s, the districts located in the northern part of the city, from which the population had fled during the Middle Ages, had become once again inhabited, giving reason for this choice.
Michelangelo had also drawn a geometric pattern for the square's pavement, but this part of his project was set aside.

aerial view of the Capitolium Square's pattern

Only in 1940, four centuries later, Michelangelo's original plan was retrieved, and the city administration finally had the square paved with the famous oval pattern (above right).

Instead the making of building on the left side of the square, which should have matched Palazzo dei Conservatori, never started, so the square was still open towards the church (see above the detail of a map of Rome of 1561). The works started almost one century later, in 1644; the workshop was led by Girolamo Rainaldi and in the end the new building was given the name Palazzo Nuovo ("New Palace").

Among the statues set in the square, the most famous one, which appears on the 50 Eurocents coin, is that of emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180). This bronze monument dates back to the 4th century and originally stood in the Lateran grounds, near St.John's basilica, more or less on the spot where today the Lateran obelisk can be seen. Despite Michelangelo disagreed with the pope's idea of moving the Roman relic, in 1538 the statue was actually dragged the top of Capitolium Hill.
Some old depictions of the Lateran grounds feature the mounted statue in its original location; among them is a famous fresco dated c.1485 by Filippino Lippi in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and an early 1500s drawing by Maartens van Heemskerck (below). Also in a few late medieval maps of Rome the statue is clearly seen, located next to St.John's church.

the statue (arrow) in a map of Rome dated 1447 and in an early 1500s drawing of a view of St.John in the Lateran

In the centre of Capitolium Square, the statue was rested on an elegant stand drawn by Michelangelo, as well. It features the mounted emperor in the attitude of speaking to the people, although others believe that his stretched arm is a gesture of mercy upon the figure of a war prisoner (now missing) that may have originally lain below the horse's raised hoof. Marcus Aurelius is remembered as one of Rome's most enlightened and cultured rulers, known as the 'philosopher emperor' for his interest in this field; he is one of the very few emperors who completely disregarded gladiator games, preferring his readings, although he is also remembered for his victorious military campaigns against the barbarian populations who lived in central Europe. During the Middle Ages, though, this statue was believed to feature Constantine I, the most celebrated among Roman emperors by the Church of Rome, having lifted the ban on the Christian religion in 313.

In the centre of Capitolium Square, the statue was rested on an elegant stand drawn by Michelangelo, as well. It features the mounted emperor in the attitude of speaking to the people, although others believe that his stretched arm is a gesture of mercy upon the figure of a war prisoner (now missing) that may have originally lain below the horse's raised hoof. Marcus Aurelius is remembered as one of Rome's most enlightened and cultured rulers, known as the 'philosopher emperor' for his interest in this field; he is one of the very few emperors who completely disregarded gladiator games, preferring his readings, although he is also remembered for his victorious military campaigns against the barbarian populations who lived in central Europe.
During the Middle Ages, though, this statue was believed to feature Constantine I, the most celebrated among Roman emperors by the Church of Rome, having lifted the ban on the Christian religion in 313.

Marcus Aurelius' statue (presently, a faithful copy)

Such mistaken identity enabled the bronze statue to remain well preserved, whereas most other images of pagan emperors were deliberately destroyed around the 5th century, when a wind of religious fanatism swept over the dying Roman Empire.
Originally, the statue of Marcus Aurelius was gilded. The golden layer came off in a short time (some parts were likely stolen) and very soon only a few patches of the precious metal were left in place. However, for a long time the people believed that the statue had been mnoulded in gold and then covered with a bronze layer that was gradually coming off.

		This popular belief inspired a famous legend, according to which on the day the statue would turn completely gold, the 'owl' on the horse's head (actually, a tuft of hair mistaken for a bird, shown in the picture on the right) would sing, and the city of Rome - thus the whole world - would come to an end. Obviously, this never happened. But in recent times a serious threat to Marcus Aurelius and his horse was caused by air pollution: in the late 1980s the original statue (detail on the right) had to be carefully restored and then given an indoor location, while a faithful copy was set in the centre of the square.

Besides the mounted emperor, other statues were moved from their original location for decorating the baluster that runs on both sides at the top of the long staircase that leads to the square.

the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux		The first two personages on either side are the Dioscuri, the twin sons of Jupiter and Leda, named Castor and Pollux, each one leading his own horse; they were unearthed by the house of the Cenci family (mentioned in the Legendary Rome section). Then two smaller groups featuring spoils of war, in the shape of shields and weapons taken away from enemies, known as 'Mario's trophies', that come from the ancient fountain or nymphaeum whose ruins stand on the site of today's piazza Vittorio Emanuele II (see the Fountains monograph). Further sideways stand the statues of two emperors of the late imperial age, the aforementioned Constantine I (right) and his son Constant II (left), both dating to the 4th century, found among the ruins of the Baths of Constantine (described in There once was in Rome...).		one of the groups of shields and weapons

The outermost ornaments on the baluster are two columns coming from the ancient Appian Way, where they acted as milestones; they bear inscriptions by emperors Vespasian and Nerva (late 1st century AD).

		When by the end of the 16th century the ancient aqueducts were fixed and reopened, the square could be finally reached by running water. A large double basin was added in front of the staircase of Palazzo Senatorio and turned into a fountain. The two large reclining statues that rest in front of the staircase had been found in the ruins of the baths of Constantine; they allegorically represent two rivers: the Nile (on the left), which bears a small distinctive statue of a sphynx, and the Tygris on the opposite side, which once bore a small tiger. But not to leave the square without a reference to the city's own symbols, the head of the tiger was chiselled off and replaced with that of Rome's she-wolf; a pair of twin children was also added below. So the statue was turned into an allegory of the Tiber.

In acknowledgement to the great importance that Capitolium Hill had for the city over the past centuries, Palazzo Senatorio is today Rome's Town Hall and the official seat of the mayor. The buildings on the side of the square, instead, house the Capitoline Museums, which claim to be the most ancient public collection of antiquities in the world. The first specimens had been acquired by Sixtus IV (1471-84), one of the earliest popes who showed an interest towards ancient remains; they included the famous 'Capitoline Wolf' (right) and the 'Boy With Thorn' (below right), which originally stood by the Lateran Palace.

(↑ the Dying Galatian and Boy with Thorn →		The pope then gave his antiquities to the City Council, as a token of friendship towards Rome's administrators, thus marking the origin of the collection, which were officially opened to the public in 1734 by pope Clement XII. A modern underground passage, which is also part of the museums, runs below the square connecting the two buildings and the remains of the Tabularium.

	Capitolium Square belongs to the 10th historical district, Rione X, Campitelli, described in the relevant page of The Rioni section. The famous pavement pattern of this square is also featured on 2 Euro coins issued in 2007 by all countries belonging to the Eurozone, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the European Economic Community, the Treaty of Rome, which was actually signed at the Palazzo dei Conservatori.

Capitolium Square belongs to the 10th historical district, Rione X, Campitelli, described in the relevant page of The Rioni section.

The famous pavement pattern of this square is also featured on 2 Euro coins issued in 2007 by all countries belonging to the Eurozone, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the European Economic Community, the Treaty of Rome, which was actually signed at the Palazzo dei Conservatori.