Rome Off the Beaten Tracks

  The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( I Mons Capitolinus between the Forum and the Campus Martius was one of the seven hills of. Rome.The hill was earlier known as Mons Saturnius, dedicated to the god Saturno Thr worl d Capitolium first meant the ttemple Juppiter Optimus Maximus,that was  later  built here, and afterwards it was used for the whole hill (and even other temples of Jupiter on othhills), thus Mons Capitolinus (the adjective noun of Capitolium). In an etymological myth, ancient sources connect the name to caput ("head", "summit") and the tale was that, when laying the foundations for the temple, the head of a man was found,[3] some sources even saying it was the head of some Tolus or Olus. The Capitolium was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity.[By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian and Capitolium Campidoglio. The Capitoline Hill contains few ancient ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval and Renaissance palazzi (now housing the Capitoline Mujseums) that surround a piazza , an urban plan designed by Michelangelo.At this hill, the Sabines , creeping to the Citadel , were let in by the Roman maiden Tarpeia. For this treachery, Tarpeia was the first to be punished by being flung from a steep cliff overlooking the Roman Forum. This cliff was later named the Tarpeian Rock after the Vestal Virgin, and became a frequent execution site. The Sabines, who immigrated to Rome following the Rape of the Sabine woman, settled on the Capitoline. The Vulcanal  (Shrine of Vulcan), an 8th-century BC sacred precinct, occupied much of the eastern lower slopes of the Capitoline, at the head of what would later become the Roman Forum. The summit was the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad, started by Rome's fifth king, Tarquinus Priscus (r. 616–579 BC),and completed by the seventh and last king, Tarquinius Superbus (535–496 BC). It was considered one of the largest and the most beautiful temples in the city (although little now remains). The city legend starts with the recovery of a human skull (the word for head in Latin is caput) when foundation trenches were being dug for the Temple of Juppiter at Tarquin's order. Recent excavations on the Capitoline uncovered an early cemetery under the Temple of Jupiter.[8] The existing design of the Piazza del Campidoglio and the surrounding palazzi was created by Renassance  artist and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536–1546. At the height of his fame, he was commissioned by the Farnese Pope Paolo III, who wanted a symbol of the new Rome to impress Charles V, who was expected in 1538. This offered him the opportunity to build a monumental civic plaza for a major city as well as to reestablish the grandeur of Rome. Michelangelo's first designs for the piazza and remodeling of the surrounding palazzi date from 1536. His plan was formidably extensive. He accentuated the reversal of the classical orientation of the Capitoline, in a symbolic gesture turning Rome's civic center to face away from the Roman Forum and instead in the direction of Papal Rome and the Christian Church  in the form of St. Peter Basilica.. This full half circle turn can also be seen as Michelangelo's desire to address the new, developing section of the city rather than the ancient ruins of the past.[14] An  equestian statue was to stand in the middle of the piazza set in a paved oval field.[13] Michelangelo was required to provide a setting for the statue and to bring order to an irregular hilltop already encumbered by two crumbling medieval buildings set at an acute angle to one another.The Palazzo del Senatore was to be restored with a double outer stairway, and the campanile moved to the center axis of the palazzo. The Palazzo dei Conservatori was also to be restored, and a new building, the so-called Palazzo Nuovo, built at the same angle on the north side of the piazza to offset the Conservatori, creating a trapezoidal piazza. A wall and balustrade were to be built at the front of the square, giving it a firm delineation on the side facing the city. Finally, a flight of steps was to lead up to the enclosed piazza from below, further accentuating the central axis.The sequence, cordonata , piazza, and the central palazzo are the first urban introduction of the "cult of the axis" that was to occupy Italian garden plans and reach fruition in France]. Executing the design was slow: Little was actually completed in Michelangelo's lifetime (the Cordonata Capitolina was not in place when Emperor Charles arrived, and the imperial party had to scramble up the slope from the Forum to view the works in progress), but work continued faithfully to his designs and the Campidoglio was completed in the 17th century, except for the paving design, which was to be finished three centuries later. From the panoramic terrace of the Capitoline hiill   you  have the opportunity of a magnificent view over the  Roman forum to learn the  history and the urban developement of ancient Rome city centre and then visit the Capitoline museums housing one of the most remarkable collection of roman art and archeology of the city of Rome

and  main urban developement of the ancient Rome city centre and then visit the Capitoline museums housing  one of the most remakable- of ancient Roman art  and archaeology of the city of Rome.