Rome: Museums

Musei Capitolini

The museum consists of two buildings on the east and west sides of Piazza del Campidoglio. The facades of both the buildings were designed by Michelangelo. Once one side is Palazzo dei Conservatori and on the other side is Palazzo Nuovo. The collections include some of the most celebrated sculptures of the ancient world, including the original of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius that once stood in the piazza.

Museo Nuovo

Most of the sculptures unearthed during excavations in 1870 are displayed here. Major works in the Museo Nuovo in the Palazzo del Museo Capitolino, include the impressive Dying Gaul and the Capitoline Venus, a Roman copy of a 3rd-century BC Greek original. There is also a huge collection of busts of Roman emperors and other famous people of the day. To the right of Palazzo del Senato on Via del Campidoglio is a panoramic view of the Foro Romano, one of best views in Rome. To the left of the palace is Via di San Pietro in Carcere, and the ancient Roman Carcere Mamertino or the mammertine prison, where prisoners were put through a hole in the floor to starve to death. St Peter was believed to have been imprisoned here and to have created a miraculous stream of water to baptize his jailers.

Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia

The museum is the villa in which Pope Julius III lived between 1551 and 1553. It was built by Vignola, Ammannati and Vasari and established as a museum in 1889. Contains the most important Etruscan collection in the world, including the famous Pollo of Vejo, the sarcophagus of the Bride and Groom, sculpture, bronzes, furniture, ivory and other objects and artifacts from burial grounds. The collection also includes the reproduction of the tomb from Cerveteri and the 18th century Castellani jewelry collection.

Musei del Vaticano

The Vatican museums contain an incredible collection of art and treasures accumulated by the popes including several Greek and Roman sculptures and it will take several hours to see the most important parts. The museum complex is housed in the papal palace built during the Renaissance for Pope Sixtus IV, Innocent VII and Julius II. Bramante designed part of it and renaissance artworks as well as Egyptian, Etruscan, Ethnological museums were included in the 18th century.

There are four 'one way' itineraries which del Vaticano has planned to simplify visits and contain the huge number of visitors. It is compulsory to follow the itineraries. The Cappella Sistina comes towards the end of a full visit. Hence if one wants to spend more time there it needs to be planned in advance. One visit is probably not enough to appreciate the full value of the collections and it's worth trying to make at least two visits if you have the time.

Museo Gregoriano Egizio

The Museo Gregoriano Egizio or the Egyptian museum contains many exhibits obtained from Egypt in Roman times. Interesting pieces include Vaticano's enormous collection of ancient sculptures, displayed in a series of galleries. The long corridor which forms the Museo Chiaramonti contains hundreds of marble busts, while the Braccio Nuovo (New Wing) contains important works, including a famous statue of Augustus, and a statue depicting the Nile as a reclining god with 16 babies playing on him representing the number of cubits the Nile rose when in flood.

Museo Pio-Clementino

In the Belvedere Pavilion lies Museo Pio-Clementino and is accessible through the Egyptian Museum. In the Cortile Ottagono or the octagonal courtyard, is part of the Vaticano sculpture collection including the Apollo Belvedere, copy of a 4th century BC Greek bronze. Also Laocoön, depicting a Trojan priest of Apollo and his two sons in mortal struggle with two sea serpents. Michelangelo was said to be present when it was discovered in 1506. It was recognized from descriptions by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder.

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