Rome – Capitol (Capitol)

Capitol

The greatest disadvantage of the Altar of the Fatherland is this, that it obstructs the view of the Capitoline Hill, which during the Roman Empire was the spiritual and political center of the city, and remains so nominally to this day, at least for tourists and bureaucrats. From the name of the hill, derived from the Latin caput (head) come such words, like capital, chapter, captain etc., and they took the name of the coin from the Juno Monet temple that once stood here, which housed the mint. The Capitol was also a focal point in the Medieval and Renaissance era: the bold 14th-century dictator Cola di Rienzo achieved his triumph here, to be killed seven years later at the hands of the crowd - an unusually modest statue commemorates the place, where he was to die - and a hundred years later, Michelangelo was commissioned to rebuild the hill. It was a symbol of the revival of Rome after the city was sacked.

On the left, at the highest point of the hill, there is the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (codz. 7.00-12.00 and 15.30-until dusk) erected on the site of the former Temple of Jupiter. It is reached by stairs built in 1348 r. przez Cola di Rienzo. The stairs are steep and easier to climb from the west, but - this way or that way - one of the oldest church in Rome is worth a visit. It has beautiful, Renaissance frescoes by Pinturicchio depicting the life of Saint Bernard — realistic paintings with landscapes and scenes from city life. The church is also known for its role as the custodian of the so-called "Bambino", a statue of baby Jesus carved from an olive tree from the Garden of Gethsemane. Statuette, having the power to heal, it was traditionally sent to the sick and dying across the city, and the carriage with the statuette had right of way through the busy Roman streets. Bambino is sometimes summoned to the sick still today and still has the privileges usually accorded to foreign statesmen (though apparently prefers to take a taxi); He spends his free time in the chapel on the eastern side of the church, adorned with jewels and wrapped in luxurious diapers.

At the top of the gentler stairs on the right, called cordonata and flanked by Roman statues of Castor and Pollux, there is one of the most elegant squares in Rome, Piazza Campidoglio. It was designed in 1550 r. by Michelangelo at the request of Pope Paul III, who wanted to do a thorough clean-up in Rome after the visit of Charles V - is therefore all the stranger, that the union enthusiasts decided to hide the square behind a disgusting white marble typewriter. In the center of the square, Michelangelo placed an equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, who for years stood quietly in front of the Basilica of St.. John in Lateran, for it was considered a statue of the Emperor Constantine. Currently, there is only a plinth, because the monument was unfortunately taken for cleaning, but the square looks roughly like this, as Michelangelo planned it. The main building is the Palazzo Senatorio at the other end, now the town hall, flanked by two branches of one of the most important museums of ancient art in the city - the Capitoline Museum (wt.-sb. 9.00-13.30, wt., Wed. i sb. too 17.00-20.00, nd. 9.00-13.00; 4500 L, students 2500 L, last Sun. free admission of the month).

If you have time for just one of them, The Palazzo del Museo Capitolino on the left is much more interesting, though smaller. Some of the best Roman and Greek sculptures in the city are housed on the first floor in about ten rooms and a long corridor full of elegant statues. She is outstanding, restrained sculpture The Dying Gaul, Roman copy of the Hellenic original; naturalistic boy with a goose, also a copy; an original shot of Eros and Psyche taking up bars; A Resting Satyr according to the work of Praxiteles, who was the inspiration for the Marble Faun Hawthorne and The Laughing Silly, also a Roman copy of a Greek original. But that's not all - in the so-called Sala degli Imperatori there are busts of Roman emperors and other famous figures: young August, cruel Caracalla, portrait of Helena, Constantine's mother, in a graceful reclining position. Capitoline Venus, which has its own hall, should not be overlooked - the headless sculpture, however, is a subtle, an elegant work based on the prototype by Praxiteles.

For the same ticket (in the same day) you can enter the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the other side of the square, which has larger and more varied harvests, apart from ancient sculpture, also more contemporary works. Around the courtyard, feet and other fragments of the giant statue of Constantine were placed. Inside, in numerous wings on the first floor, there are friezes and murals depicting events in the history of Rome, several huge statues of Pope Inocent X and Urban VIII, perfect Spinario - Hellenistic sculpture from the 1st century. BC. depicting a boy taking out a thorn from his foot - and the sacred statue of a she-wolf feeding twins, probably of Etruscan origin. It is also worth seeing the so-called Venus of Esquilin and Tena Capitoline - a reconstructed bronze chariot, as well as the softly modeled Muse Polyhymnia and the giant Roman copy of Athena. On the second floor there are Renaissance paintings - numerous works by Renia and Tintoretto, giant painting of Guercino, which hung in the Basilica of St.. Peter, some small works by Carracci, especially the early head of the boy, A gypsy and a prophetess, and several portraits of Velasquez and Van Dyck.

After visiting the museum, walk behind Palazzo Senatorio, to admire the best view in Rome of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum below. Via del Monte Tarpeio prowadzi, as the name suggests, at the foot of the old Tarpejska Rock, from where traitors were thrown during the times of the republic, named after Tarpei, which betrayed the Sabines of entering the Capitol. On the left, the road passes the Forum and leads to the small church of San Piętro in Carcere (codz. 9.00-12.00 i 14.00-18.30), built on the site of the ancient Carcer Prison, in the Middle Ages called Mamertinus. Spies were kept there, prisoners of war and other enemies of the state; St.. Piotr. The stairs lead to the dark depths of the prison, where the bars can be seen, to which he was chained and the spa, which Peter was supposed to conjure up, to baptize other prisoners. At the top of the stairs, an oval opening is carved in the stone wall, allegedly an imprint of the head of an apostle being knocked down the steps to the prison. The dungeons are not making the most pleasant impression today, and an additional incentive to leave them is fact, that there is a gift shop at the exit.

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