Piazza del Campidoglio

Lonely Planet review

The magnificent centrepiece of the Campidoglio, Michelangelo's 16th-century piazza is considered by many Rome's most beautiful square. Commissioned by Pope Paul III and designed by Michelangelo in 1538, it took more than a 100 years to build and was completed in the late 17th century. There are various ways to reach it but the most dramatic is via the Cordonata, the graceful staircase that leads up from Piazza d'Aracoeli.

At the top of the stairs, the square is bordered by three palazzi : Palazzo Nuovo to the left, Palazzo Senatorio straight ahead and Palazzo dei Conservatori on the right. Michelangelo authored their facades and designed the piazza's pavement for Pope Paul III in 1538. In the centre of the square is a copy of an equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. (The restored original is behind glass in Palazzo Nuovo).

The fountain at the base of Palazzo Senatorio's double staircase features a 1st-century statue of Minerva, divine sister of Castor and Pollux, who emerged fully-grown out of Jupiter's head. To the left of the palazzo is Via di San Pietro in Carcere and, down the stairs, the Carcere Mamertino (Mamertine Prison), where St Peter was believed to have been imprisoned. Legend has it that he created a miraculous stream of water to baptise his jailers and fellow prisoners.