Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums trace their origin to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a group of ancient bronzes to the people of Rome. The collection opened fully to the public in 1734 under Pope Clement XII, making it one of the earliest public museums anywhere, and it was reorganized on modern archaeological lines in 1903.

Its most recognized work is the Capitoline Wolf, a bronze long tied to Rome's founding myth, with the figures of Romulus and Remus added in the 15th century. The Dying Gaul, a Roman marble copy of a lost Greek bronze, is often called the collection's finest single sculpture.

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, once the centerpiece of the outdoor piazza, was moved indoors in 1990 to a climate-controlled glass hall for preservation. The Capitoline Venus rounds out the museum's holdings of Roman sculpture derived from Greek originals.