The new wing of the Musei Capitolini
The new arrangement for the Palazzo dei Conservatori has a modern architectural note to it thanks to the great glass hall where the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius is now situated together with the imposing remains of the temple to Capitoline Jupiter and other items from recent excavations; the Campidoglio also hosts once again the sculptures of the roman Horti and the Castellani collection of Greek and Etruscan vases.
Renovation of another important section of the Musei Capitolini is now complete. Another component has thus been added to this museum that, since its reopening after renovation in 2000 has continued to grow in terms of space and collections viewable by the public.
The great glass covered hall created by covering the Giardino Romano, with a similar solution to the one used for the Sala Ottagonale, is entirely dedicated to the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which was once in the centre of Piazza del Campidoglio and which is now kept indoors after its restoration; the hall will also host the remaining fragments of the bronze colossus of Constantine.
The design by the architect Carlo Aymonino, which recalls in the volume of the hall the oval space designed by Michelangelo for the square at the centre of the Capitoline Hill, also contains the new arrangement for the recently restored foundations in tuff stone of the Capitoline Temple to Jupiter that used to be on the hill, giving them suitable prominence.
It is thus possible to have an idea of the position and dimensions of this sacred edifice, the most important in ancient Rome, which used to span this area of the museum, also with the help of a very complete set of illustrations that include a model, drawings that reconstruct how it was and computers for further information.
Items found during recent excavations in the Giardino Romano, which have made it possible to learn about the earliest period in which this part of the Capitoline Hill had been frequented and occupied (in the middle Bronze Age: XVII-XIV century B.C.) through to the period of the construction of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the period of the Tarquin kings in VI century B.C., are exhibited.
The new preparation for the Museo del Palazzo dei Conservatori shows a different arrangement for the marble statues - from the Horti Lamiani, the Horti Mecenaziani and the Horti Tauriani-Vettiani - which had already been exhibited in these halls and that had temporarily been moved to the Centrale Montemartini.
In the three halls adjacent to the Appartamento dei Conservatori one finds the showcases of the famous Castellani Collection with a part of the magnificent set of Greek and Etruscan vases that was donated to the Municipality of Rome by Augusto Castellani in the mid XIX century.
