Unofficial visitor guide · Rome
Musei Capitolini · Google Maps
Official audio guide · English Yes · 5 languages · €4
The Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini) on Rome's Capitol Hill grew from a gift of ancient bronzes that Pope Sixtus IV made to the people of Rome in 1471. Their audio guide comes in five languages. If yours isn't one of them, or you'd rather have the labels read to you, here is what helps.
Independent guide by the makers of Tales of Museums. Not affiliated with the Capitoline Museums.
Checked on 15 October 2026 from the sources linked above. Museums change their guides and rules; confirm on the official Capitoline website before you go.
Checked on 15 October 2026 from the sources linked above. Museums change their guides and rules; confirm on the official Capitoline website before you go.
Swipe for the works and stories worth knowing before you go.
Rome's emblem came to the Capitol with Pope Sixtus IV's gift of 1471. The suckling twins Romulus and Remus were added in the Renaissance, attributed by some to Pollaiolo. The museum dates the bronze wolf to the 5th century BC and says it probably had nothing to do with Rome's founding legend at first.
Late-imperial Rome listed 22 larger-than-life bronze horsemen; this is the only one left. Michelangelo designed the Piazza del Campidoglio around it. Since 1997 a copy made by Italy's State Mint stands in the square, while the restored original is indoors in the glass Exedra of Marcus Aurelius.
museicapitolini.org: Marcus Aurelius · museicapitolini.org: Marcus Aurelius (Italian)
In the courtyard of Palazzo dei Conservatori lie pieces of a giant seated Constantine whose hand rose about 10 metres above the floor. The famous raised index finger is a modern addition: the hand probably held a sceptre. Bare skin was carved in marble, the robe made of gilded bronze.
A wounded Celtic warrior, marked out by his moustache, shaggy hair and torque necklace, sinks onto his shield. Look at the base for his curved war trumpet. The statue spent 1797 to 1816 in France before returning to Palazzo Nuovo.
Found near the church of San Vitale around 1666-1670, this slightly larger-than-life marble Venus stepping out of her bath follows an original by Praxiteles. She has a small cabinet of her own in Palazzo Nuovo.
Bernini shows the Gorgon at the instant she sees her own reflection and begins to turn to stone, an idea taken from a 1630 poem by Giovan Battista Marino. The museum reads it as a witty image of sculpture itself: an artist who turns admirers to stone with his chisel.
The emperor poses as Hercules, with the lion skin over his head, the club and the golden apples of the Hesperides. The remarkably well-preserved bust was found in 1874 in an underground room of the Horti Lamiani on the Esquiline, where it had probably been hidden.
This small bronze of a boy pulling a thorn from his foot arrived with the gift of 1471 and became one of the most admired and copied works of the Renaissance. It combines a Hellenistic body with a head modelled on Greek sculpture of the 5th century BC.
Look for the Greek words on her scroll, which say there is only one God, infinite and unbegotten. The painting was among the Pio family masterpieces sold to Pope Benedict XIV in 1750, who gave them to the newly founded picture gallery on the Capitol.
Completed in 78 BC to keep the bronze tablets of Roman laws and state records, this building now lies under Palazzo Senatorio. A modern corridor in its foundations leads past the Temple of Veiovis to a gallery that opens over the Roman Forum.
museicapitolini.org: Tabularium (route) · museicapitolini.org: Tabularium (history)
Tales of Museums reads the label in front of you aloud in your language, for any label you can photograph. Photos are allowed for personal use in the permanent collections, so bring headphones and mobile data.
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The museum's audio guide (€4) and video guide (€6) are in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish, and the children's audio guide (€4) in Italian, English and French. They are not offered in Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian or Portuguese. Paid guided tours in several languages can be booked on 060608. museicapitolini.org: tickets and video guides · museicapitolini.org: audio guide for children · museicapitolini.org: visitor services
Until 1 November 2026 a non-resident ticket costs €16.50 (€11 reduced) and includes the Angeli exhibition; without an exhibition the museum lists €15 (€9.50 reduced). Buying online or on 060608 adds a €1 fee, while same-day tickets at the desk have none. The museum strongly recommends buying online, and tickets cannot be refunded or changed. museicapitolini.org: tickets and video guides · museicapitolini.org: tickets and video guides (Italian)
The MIC card costs €5 and gives 12 months of free entry to Rome's civic museums, including the Capitoline. It is for residents and temporary residents of Rome and its metropolitan area and for students at the city's universities. Visitors from elsewhere can use a Roma Pass (48 or 72 hours) for free or reduced entry. museiincomuneroma.it: MIC card (Italian) · Roma Capitale museums: service charter 2026 (PDF) · museicapitolini.org: tickets and video guides
Yes, of the works in the permanent collections, for personal and study use, without tripods, selfie sticks or extra lighting. Photos are not allowed of works in temporary exhibitions, and professional shoots need permission from the Sovrintendenza Capitolina. museicapitolini.org: visitor services
Yes. The museum's list of what is not allowed covers bulky bags, umbrellas, pets, food, drink and smoking, not phones, and it sells its own video guide as a phone app. Bring headphones and mobile data: visitor Wi-Fi is not among the services the museum lists. museicapitolini.org: visitor services · museicapitolini.org: tickets and video guides · Roma Capitale museums: service charter 2026 (PDF)
Every day from 9.30 am to 7.30 pm, with last entry an hour before closing; on 24 and 31 December it closes at 2 pm, and it is closed on 1 May and 25 December. The Pietro da Cortona room and the halls of the Horti of Maecenas are currently closed for work. museicapitolini.org: practical information · museicapitolini.org: notices
Visitors with disabilities enter from Via delle Tre Pile 1 after calling +39 06 67102071, and the museum has two wheelchairs for visitors who have difficulty walking. Until further notice, Palazzo Nuovo cannot be visited in a wheelchair because of restoration work by its lift. Buggies are allowed inside and there is a baby-changing table. Roma Capitale museums: service charter 2026 (PDF) · museicapitolini.org: visitor services · museicapitolini.org: notices
Yes, on the Terrazza Caffarelli at Piazzale Caffarelli 4, reached from outside by the Campidoglio steps. Food and drink are not allowed in the galleries. museicapitolini.org: visitor services
Book ahead: the Capitoline Museums say a booking lets you skip the queue at the ticket office, and individual visitors book by buying their ticket online in advance (a €1 pre-sale fee applies). Advance tickets cannot be refunded or changed. museicapitolini.org: Tickets and videoguides · museicapitolini.org: Biglietti e videoguide
Children under 6 enter the Capitoline Museums free. The ticket office sells an audio guide for children and families, recommended for ages 6 to 12, in Italian, English and French for €4, and the bookshop has a large choice of books and games for children. Buggies are allowed inside and there is a baby-changing table. museicapitolini.org: Concessions and free admission · museicapitolini.org: Tickets and videoguides · museicapitolini.org: Visitors service · museicapitolini.org: Service charter 2026 (PDF)
Yes: entry to the Capitoline Museums is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month, as part of Rome's civic museums scheme. Free tickets are issued only at the museum's ticket office or by calling 060608. Since February 2026, residents of Rome and its metropolitan area also enter free on any day, showing an ID card at the ticket office. museicapitolini.org: Concessions and free admission · museicapitolini.org: Tickets and videoguides · museiincomuneroma.it: press release, free Sunday 7 June 2026 (PDF) · museicapitolini.org: gratuità e riduzioni (Italian)
Tales of Museums is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Capitoline Museums. Translations, narration and the extra facts use AI and can contain mistakes, so for anything important, check the museum's official information and the linked sources. Please follow the museum's photography rules.