Eighteen Views of Rome: The Campidoglio

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Flemish artist Lieven Cruyl made a number of drawings of emblematic vistas of Rome for the Roman publisher Giovanni Battista de Rossi, of which ten were published as etchings in 1666. The Campidoglio features architecture designed by Michelangelo. The Campidoglio was an important ritual space atop the Capitoline Hill overlooking the Roman Forum. Michelangelo reoriented the piazza to look away from the forum and toward Saint Peter’s Basilica, creating a link between the civic buildings on the piazza and the home of the Catholic Church. He had the piazza paved in a trapezoidal shape and placed the ancient Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius on a newly designed plinth in the middle. With this design, he transformed the Campidoglio from a muddy hill to a central destination and ritual space for centuries to come.

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