Capitoline Museums

They opened in 1734, though the collection began in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV gave the people of Rome a group of ancient bronzes, including the Capitoline Wolf. They fill the two palaces facing each other across Piazza del Campidoglio, which Michelangelo designed with its star-patterned paving.

Inside are the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, the giant head and hand of Constantine and the Dying Gaul. An underground passage joins the two palaces and runs through the Tabularium, with a window over the whole Forum.