Capitoline Hill, Rome Italy (Sept 2016)

The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. It was the citadel (equivalent of the ancient Greek acropolis) of the earliest Romans. The name capitol seems to have meant "dominant height", although ancient tradition places its origin in caput ("skull": a specific skull found while laying the Temple of Jupiter foundation).

By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium, one of the three major spurs of the Capitolinus (the others being Arx and Tarpeius). The Capitoline contains few ancient ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval and Renaissance palaces (now housing the Capitoline Museums) that surround a piazza, a significant urban plan designed by Michelangelo.