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Oct 17, 2017
It was the the golden hour, the time of day when the sun burnishes all it touches with a rosy glow. It was the perfect time to be at the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome!
The piazza was designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti. (Yes, the Michelangelo!) It sits on the Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome and has a breathtaking view over both the modern city and the forum of ancient Rome. This was Michelangelo’s intention.
When Pope Paul III commissioned the artist to design this piazza in 1536, Michelangelo took the opportunity to turn the focus from the forum toward the Vatican. So now the forum is behind you and your gaze is drawn to the Northwest, the direction of Vatican City. (In this photo from Google, you can see forum is behind the Piazza.)
But what was it like to take a stroll in this ancient piazza when the day was winding down, but the evening bustle had not yet begun?
Everything about it was designed for drama and beauty - and Michelangelo absolutely succeeded in this. It starts with your first step between the two massive Egyptian lions that flank the bottom of the stairs, the black basalt gleaming as they stoically gaze down.
This approach is called the cordonata, the stairway that takes you up the hill. In fact it was built so each step is wide and deep making it not only easier for people but also mounted horses to climb the steep hill!
At the top you pass between two imposing statues of Castor and Pollux. (Castor is the one with the horse.) In the mythology of ancient Rome and Greece, they are twins known as the Dioscuri. One brother was immortal, the other one not. In order to share their immortality and stay together, they became the stars in the constellation Gemini. At this time of day, the pale stone is illuminated in golden light. Their faces warm in the late afternoon as they look out over the city that spreads beneath them.
Now you are at the summit of the Capitoline Hill one of the symbols of Ancient Rome. Originally the site of major temples, this piazza was considered to be the geographical center of the Roman Empire. Michelangelo emphasized this with a dramatic oval pattern of inlaid travertine marble to indicate “the center of the world.” This intricate pattern took so long to complete that it was not finished until 300 years after the death of the artist. A statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius on a horse sits on a pedestal in the center of the design. This is a copy. The original bronze is in the safe keeping of a museum to shield it from the effects of weather and time.
Luxurious palaces rise on three sides of the piazza. They were actually medieval buildings that Michelangelo restored and remodeled into the fantasy of orderly symmetry adorned with the elaborate stonework that was a hallmark of the Renaissance. Their pale shades of cream and apricot are intensified by the gilded light of the golden hour. It was an incredible time to be there.
If you would like to walk a little further, go through the piazza toward the Palazzo Senatorio, the building with the bell tower. Passing it on the right, after a very short distance you will come to a beautiful view of the Roman Forum.
Isn’t this the best way to start an evening?
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