Palazzo Conservatorio is one of the three grand palaces that encircle the Piazza del Campidoglio at the top of the Hill.
You can see an awful lot in a short time at the Capitoline Hill. Even without going into the Capitoline Museums, the square is packed with ancient artefacts, historically significant sculptures and beautiful buildings.
If you use the Cordonata stairs to enter the piazza, you’ll see the Palazzo dei Conservatori on your right.
Pretty much everything you see here was designed (or re-designed) by the Renaissance master Michelangelo. The area was long neglected and by the 1500s it was in a sad and sorry state. Pope Paul III commissioned Michelangelo to rejuvenate it.
The Palazzo dei Conservatori was already existing and historically, it had served as a palace for conservators or magistrates.
Michelangelo gave it a radical re-design. The most striking new addition were the giant pillars or columns running from the ground to the top of the two storey building. He also added a flat roofline, crowned with balustrades and a row of statues that are silhouetted against the bright sky.
Directly opposite, is the Palazzo Nuovo. The two buildings are mirror images of each other but Palazzo Nuovo was a brand new building, built from scratch. Together they give a very pleasing balance and symmetry to the piazza.
Today, the two palazzi, Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei Conservatori, house the Capitoline Museums which means that you can also go inside.