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Photo: Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys), CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ballroom-like church which crowns part of the Capitoline Hill. Don't be fooled by the plain stone exterior.
The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Altar in Heaven is a titular basilica and conventual church of the Franciscan Convent of Aracoeli located on the highest summit of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. From 1250 to 1798 it was the headquarters of the General Curia of the Order of Friars Minor as well as being one of the city's principal civic churches. It is still the designated church of the city council of Rome, which uses the ancient title of Senatus Populusque Romanus. The present cardinal priest of the Titulus Sanctæ Mariæ de Aracœli is Salvatore De Giorgi.
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Capitoline Museum
Built in the 17th century to a design based on an architectural sketch by Michelangelo. Highlights include the ancient Colossus of Constantine statue (the Colosseum was probably named for another giant statue, the Colossus of Nero which stood near the Flavian Amphitheatre as the Colosseum was originally known), The Dying Gaul, a magnificent marble sculpture that copies a bronze Greek original of the 3rd century BC and the Capitoline Venus. It also contains the remarkable original gilt bronze equestrian statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius (the one in the piazza is a replica).
On top of the Capitoline hill. The piazza was designed by Michelangelo. The Capitoline Museum is housed in the palaces flanking the piazza. You can walk behind the Palazzo Senatorio, where Rome's government meets, to a wonderful viewpoint which overlooks the entire Roman Forum. In the centre of the square you can admire an exact copy of the Statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback; the original is kept in one of the two museums, to preserve it from pollution.
Capitoline Museums
The two museums are on opposite sides of the Piazza del Campidoglio, It is recommended to book tickets online
Palace of the Conservators
Also based on a Michelangelo architectural plan, this compact gallery is well endowed in classical sculpture and paintings. Highlights include the small 1st-century-BC bronze Lo Spinario, a Greek statue of a little boy picking a thorn from his foot; the Lupa Capitolina (Capitoline Wolf), a rare Etruscan bronze statue probably dating from the 5th century BC; and (in the entrance courtyard), the massive head, hands, foot and kneecap from a colossal statue of Constantine the Great. The palace also contains a Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery) with paintings mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries - highlights include: 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.
Built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, this vast structure may appear to be solid white marble but actually contains many rooms inside. There are two permanent museums, one on Italian Reunification and one on emigration from Italy, as well as other spaces that host rotating exhibitions. A walk through the Flag Room leads to the tomb of the unknown soldier. Good views from half-way up but you can also pay €10 (€2 concessions) and take a lift all the way to the top.
The remains of the ancient Roman archives, where Cicero and Seneca did research. Visible from the Forum and accessible through the Capitoline Museum.