Piazza del Campidoglio

You climb the Cordonata, a ramp of shallow steps, and arrive in one of the most beautiful squares in Rome. The Capitoline Hill was the religious heart of the ancient city, crowned by the great Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. In the Middle Ages it became the seat of Rome's civic government, and it still is: the Palazzo Senatorio, straight ahead, houses the mayor's office.

1Michelangelo's square

In 1538 Pope Paul III had the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius brought here, and Michelangelo was commissioned to bring order to the hill, which at the time looked rather neglected. He designed a trapezoid square enclosed by three palaces with matching façades, and a pavement with a star-shaped pattern. Work dragged on for more than a century after his death in 1564, and the pavement was only laid in 1940, following engravings of his design.

The statue of Marcus Aurelius is the only large Roman equestrian bronze to survive almost intact. It escaped the medieval melting pot, where pagan bronzes usually ended up, because people believed it portrayed Constantine, the Christian emperor. The one in the centre is a copy; the restored original is inside the Capitoline Museums. The museums were born in 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a group of ancient bronzes to the people of Rome.

2What to look for

• The Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, with their horses at the top of the Cordonata.
• The star in the pavement, best seen from the steps of the Palazzo Senatorio.
• The view over the Roman Forum: walk round the right side of the Palazzo Senatorio and look out from the terrace.