Curators Palace/ Palazzo dei Conservatori (Museums, Apartment, Gallery)
"Curators Palace/ Palazzo dei Conservatori (Museums, Apartment, Gallery)" submitted by RomeTour Editorial Team and last updated on
Sunday 26th June 2011
The palace was rebuilt by Nicolas V in the middle of the 15th century and remodeled after 1563-1568 by G.Della Porta and G.Guidetti from a design by Michelangelo. It was a seat of Professional Corporations (of druggists, vendors of fabrique, slaughters, etc.) and a of a Municipality. The name "conservatori" reminds about three members of the municipality of the city, chosen from the noble families, who were governing together with the Mayor.
Michelangelo re-designed the facade, adding gigantic Corinthian pilaster strips on high pedestals, flanked by pillars in the portico on the ground floor. As in the case of Palazzo Senatorio, the building was crowned with a balustrade and statues. The transformation of the building also affected its interior configuration, as a result of alterations to the windows on the first floor. The central one was eventually created by Giacomo della Porta and is much larger than the others, making an exception to Michelangelo's plan.
One side of the Campidoglio Square (Piazza del Campidoglio) is open; the others are bounded by the Senatorium (Town Council), the statuary-filled Palace of the Conservatori (Curators), and the Capitoline Museum. These museums house some of the greatest pieces of classical sculpture in the world. Palazzo dei Conservatori contains the Appartamento dei Conservatori (Apartments of the Palace of Conservatives), the Museo del Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Pinacoteca. Adjoining the building is the Museo Nuovo (Palazzo Caffarelli) and Braccio Nuovo.
Entrance:
- the fragments of a colossal 12m high statue of seated Constantine II, composed of head, hand, arm and feet, brought from Basilica of Maxentius in 1486. The body of the statue was made in wood.
- bases with sculptured representations of provinces and nations subjected to Rome;
- an inscription from the arch erected in 51 A.D. on Via Lata to celebrate the conquest of Britain by Claudius;
- a figure of Rome from the time of Trajan or Hadrian, and statues of Barbarians;
- four relieves from triumphal arches, celebrating Marcus Aurelius and his military victories and triumph in 176;
- Hadrian, relief from the demolished Arch of Portugal;
- the statue of a French prince Charles I of Anjou (who was a Mayor (!) of Rome three times between 1263 and 1285), attributed to A.di Cambio.
Appartamento dei Conservatori (The Apartments of the Palace of Conservatives)
- Sala degli Orazi e Curiazi (frescoes by C.d'Arpino; marble statue of Urban VIII, by G.L.Bernini; bronze statue of Innocent X, by A.Algardi. After unification of Italy with the capital in Rome, this Sala became the most important and official center of national and international meetings and events. Here the Treaty of Rome, the foundation of the European Economic Community, was signed by Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Holland and Luxembourg on March 25, 1957).
- Sala dei Capitali (frescoes from Roman history, 16th-17th centuries statues of five captains of the Holy Roman Church: Marcantonio Colonna, Alessandro Farnese, Carlo Barberini, Gianfranco Aldobrandini and Tommaso Rospigliosi)
- Sala dei Trionfi di Mario (a frieze by M.Alberti and Giacomo Rocchetti; bronze statue of Spinario (Boy plucking a thorn from his foot) (1st century b.C.); bronze head, and etc.)
- Sala della Lupa (frescoes from Roman history; fragments from the Arch of Augustus in the Forum; famous She-wolf, Etruscan bronze statue, symbol of Rome (the twins Romulus and Remus were added by Pollaiolo in 1509)).
- Sala delle Oche (a figure of Isis and two "geese"; a bronze bust of Michelangelo, by Bernini).
- Sala delgli Arazzi (Tapestries showing the goddess Roma, and the Birth of Romulus and Remus).
- Sala delle Aquile, Cappella Nuova, Sala delle Guerre Puniche, Cappella Vecchia.
Museo del Palazzo dei Conservatori (Museum of Curators Palace)
- Sale dei Fasti Moderni (contain lists of the chief magistrates of Rome since 1640, and a collection of busts and herms).
- Sala degli Orti Lamiani (contains sculptures found in the Lamiani Gardens, on the Esquiline; two Hellenistic statues; Seated girl, a Roman copy of a Greek original; Centaur's head, etc.)
- Sala dei Magistrati (columns of rare green breccia from Egypt; inscriptions recording the conferment of Roman citizenship on Michelangelo, Bernini, Petrarch, and Titian; etc.)
- Sale dei Monumenti Arcaici (two halls containing statues and bronzes).
- Sala del Camino (remains of a chimneypiece of the Conservatori, etc.)
- Sale Castellani ( a collection presented by Augusto Castellani, pieces of which were discovered in 1860-1866 in southern Etruria and Latium).
- Sala dei Bronzi (head, hand and globe from a colossal statue of Constans II; globe which originally adorned the Vatican Obelisk, etc.)
- Sala degli Orti Mecenaziani (contains sculptures found in the Gardens of Maecenas on the Esquiline).
There are two more halls and a gallery including a colossal foot, probably of the Rhodian school; a fine display of Egyptian works; etc.
Pinacoteca Capitolina (Capitolina Picture Gallery)
The palace also contains a Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery) - mostly works from the 16th and 17th centuries. Notable canvases are Caravaggio's Fortune Teller and his curious John the Baptist; The Holy Family, by Dosso Dossi; Romulus and Remus, by Rubens; and Titian's Baptism of Christ.
It was founded in 1749 by Benedict XIV, based on the Pio and Sacchetti collections. In the 19th century it lost some of its treasures to the Vatican Picture Gallery and to the Accademia di San Luca. It was later enriched by the Cini bequest, which included some interesting 14th-15th centuries paintings from the Sterbini collection, as well as ceramics. The Picture gallery is particularly important for its 16th-18th centuries Italian and foreign works.
Palazzo Nuovo (Museo Nuovo) [New Palace and Museum]
Statues, inscriptions, sarcophagi, busts, mosaics, and other ancient Roman artifacts occupy two floors of the Palazzo Nuovo. In the Hall of the Galatian can also be appreciated the marble statue of the "Dying Gaul" also called “Capitoline Gaul” and the statue of Cupid and Psyche.
Contains the greatest part of the sculptures discovered by the Commune of Rome during excavations on its territory after 1870. Also housed in this building are:
- The colossal statue restored as Oceanus, located in the museum courtyard of this building
- A fragment of the Tabula Iliaca located at the Hall of the Doves
- The statue of Capitoline Venus, from an original by Praxiteles (4th century BC)
Braccio Nuovo (New Wing)
The new great glass covered hall — the Sala Marco Aurelio — created by covering the Giardino Romano is similar to the one used for the Sala Ottagonale and British Museum Great Court. The design is by the architect Carlo Aymonino. Its volume recalls that of the oval space designed by Michelangelo for the piazza. Contains the sculptures found recently, among which are the fragments discovered in platea and walls of the Tempio di Giove capitolino, which stood on the site of the New Wing and adjoining garden.
In 1918 Palazzo dei Conservatori was taken back by the Rome City Council and partially demolished. A large terrace, (the Caffarelli Terrace) took the place of the upper floors in the Eastern wing, while the ground floor, which had been partially obliterated by excavations into the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, was taken over by the new museum section (Mussolini Museum, subsequently the Museo Nuovo).
Address:
Curators Palace/ Palazzo dei Conservatori (Museums, Apartment, Gallery)
Piazza del Campidoglio, 4 (Via del Tempio di Giove)
00186 , Rome, Lazio, Italy
Zone: Rione Campitelli (Foro Romano- Campidoglio-P.Venezia) (Roma centro)
Curators Palace/ Palazzo dei Conservatori (Museums, Apartment, Gallery) is Shown By "Map K Zone" As "3"
Bus: 30, 40, 62, 64, 70, 87, 95, 170, 492, or 628
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