The Terrazza Caffarelli is located on the Capitoline Hill, an important place for the city life since the antiquity. Even if it is the lowest one and the least wide among the 7 hills of Rome (i.e. Aventine, Capitoline, Caelian, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal Hills), the Capitoline Hill is perhaps the most popular one, having been the centre of political and religious activities in Rome since the ancient times.
Designed by Michelangelo, the square can be accessed by a magnificent staircase taking to two twin palaces (Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo) hosting the Capitoline Museums and the Palazzo Senatorio. The statue of Marcus Aurelius soars at the centre of the square and it is the only equestrian statue that has remained intact so far since the day it was built in 176 A.D. The Statue was identified with the image of Emperor Constantine, who converted to Christianity, and for this reason it was spared from destruction by the Christians. According to reliable sources, the statue was displayed approximately in the 8th century A.D., but the monument was placed in the Capitoline Square in 1538 at the command of Pope Paul III. Subsequently, in 1539, Michelangelo was instructed to bring back the prestige of the statue, which was placed in the centre of the square.
A long restoration process began in 1981 and was completed in 1990, when the monument was brought back to the Capitoline Hill and placed inside the yard of the Capitoline Museums. Therefore, the monument you can see on Michelangelo’s pedestal is a perfect reproduction of the bronze statue.
