Located on Rome’s Capitoline Hill, the Capitoline Museums are considered the world’s first public museum. The collection dates back to 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a collection of important bronze statues to the people of Rome. The Capitoline Museums slowly grew to accommodate countless works of art and in 1734 Pope Clement XII declared that the museums be open to the public. They contain an incredible collection of ancient Roman bronze and marble statues, medieval and Renaissance art, and elaborate frescoes – not to mention one of the best views of the Roman Forum.
