Facade of the Palazzo Senatorio in the Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome

The facade of the Palazzo Senatorio was designed by Michelangelo. The Tabularium, the Roman building originally located on this site, was little more than a ruin which had been redeveloped as a mini-fortress by the Corsi, a noble Roman family, who wished to take advantage of its strategic position on the summit of the Capitoline.

The facade is particularly notable for its impressive two-winged staircase. The wings meet over a well populated by two colossal statues intended to personify the Tiber (on the right) and the Nile (on the left). The small statue in the centre of the well is of Minerva, the Roman Goddess who was one of the three gods worshipped on the Capitoline by the ancient Romans, the others being Jupiter and Juno.

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