Musei Capitolini
Address: Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome, Italy
Phone: 06/39967800 or 06/67102475 Location: near Piazza Venezia Category: Museums/Galleries

From Fodors.com:
The collections in the twin Museo Capitolino and Palazzo dei Conservatori were assembled by Pope Sixtus IV (1414-84), one of the earliest of the Renaissance popes. Although parts of the collection may excite only archaeologists and art historians, others contain some of the most famous pieces of classical sculpture, such as the poignant Dying Gaul, the regal Capitoline Venus, and the Exquiline Venus (identified as another Mediterranean beauty, Cleopatra herself). The delicate Marble Faun inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name. Many of the works here and in Rome's other museums were copied from Greek originals. For hundreds of years, craftsmen of ancient Rome prospered by producing exact replicas of Greek statues using a process called "pointing."

Portraiture, however, was one area in which the Romans outdid the Greeks. The hundreds of Roman busts of emperors in the Sala degli Imperatori and of philosophers in the Sala dei Filosofi of the Museo Capitolino constitute a Who's Who of the ancient world. Within these serried ranks are 48 Roman emperors, ranging from Augustus to Theodosius (AD 346-395). On one console you'll see the handsomely austere Augustus, who "found Rome a city of brick and left it one of marble." On another rests Claudius "the stutterer," an indefatigable builder brought vividly to life in the novel I, Claudius by Robert Graves (1895-1985). Also in this company is Nero, one of the most notorious emperors -- though by no means the worst -- who built for himself the fabled Domus Aurea. And, of course, there are the baddies: cruel Caligula (AD 12-41) and Caracalla (AD 186-217), and the dissolute, eerily modern boy-emperor, Heliogabalus (AD 203-222).

Unlike the Greeks, whose portraits are idealized, the Romans preferred the "warts and all" school of representation. Many of the busts that have come down to us, notably that of Commodus (AD 161-192), the emperor-gladiator (found in a gallery on the upper level of the museum), are almost brutally realistic. As you leave the museum, be sure to stop in the courtyard. To the right is the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius that once stood in the piazza outside, restored and safely kept behind glass. At the center of the courtyard is the gigantic, reclining figure of Oceanus, found in the Roman Forum and later dubbed Marforio, one of Rome's "talking statues" to which citizens from the 1500s to the 1900s affixed anonymous satirical verses and notes of political protest. (Another talking statue still in use today sits at Piazza Pasquino, near Piazza Navona.)

The Palazzo dei Conservatori is a trove of ancient and baroque treasures. Lining the courtyard are the colossal fragments of a head, leg, foot, and hand -- all that remains of the famous statue of the emperor Constantine the Great, who believed that Rome's future lay with Christianity. These immense effigies were much in vogue in the later days of the Roman Empire. The resplendent Salone dei Orazi e Curiazi on the first floor is a ceremonial hall with a magnificent gilt ceiling, carved wooden doors, and 16th-century frescoes. At either end of the hall reign statues of the baroque era's most charismatic popes, a marble Urban VIII (1568-1644) by Bernini (1598-1680) and a bronze Innocent X (1574-1655) by Bernini's rival Algardi (1595-1654). The renowned symbol of Rome, the Capitoline Wolf, a 6th-century BC Etruscan bronze, holds a place of honor in the museum; the suckling twins were added during the Renaissance to adapt the statue to the legend of Romulus and Remus. The museum's Pinacoteca, or painting gallery, holds some of baroque painting's great masterpieces, including Caravaggio's La Buona Ventura (1595) and San Giovanni Battista (1602), Peter Paul Rubens's (1577-1640) Romulus and Remus (1614), and Pietro da Cortona's (1596-1669) sumptuous portrait of Pope Urban VIII (1627). The museum complex includes the adjacent Palazzo Caffarelli, where temporary exhibitions take place and where you can enjoy the view and refreshments on a large open terrace. Admission to the Pinacoteca is included in your ticket. www.pierreci.it. EUR6.20, free last Sun. of month. Tues.-Sun. 9-8.
 

Musei Vaticani
Address: Viale Vaticano, Rome, Italy
Phone: 06/69883332 Location: San Pietro Category: Museums/Galleries

From Fodors.com:
Vatican Museums. The immense collections housed here are so rich that unless you are an art history buff you will probably just want to skim the surface, concentrating on pieces that strike your fancy. The Sistine Chapel is a must, of course, and that's why you may have to wait in line to see it; after all, every tourist in Rome has the same idea. Pick up a leaflet at the main entrance to the museums to see the overall layout. The Sistine Chapel is at the far end of the complex, and the leaflet charts two abbreviated itineraries through other collections to reach it. You can rent a taped commentary (EUR4, about 90 minutes) in English for the Sistine Chapel, the Stanze di Raffaello, and the other main attractions. Or you can book a guided tour with the Guided Visit to Vatican Museums Office ( 06/69884676). Phone at least a day in advance. Cost, including entrance fee, is EUR16.50.

The exhibition halls of the Biblioteca Vaticana (Vatican Library) are bright with frescoes and contain a sampling of the library's rich collections of precious manuscripts. Room X, the Room of the Aldobrandini Marriage, holds a beautiful Roman fresco of a nuptial rite. More classical statues are on view in the new wing. At the Quattro Cancelli you'll find the cafeteria. The Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery) displays works by such artists as Giotto (circa 1266-1337), Fra Angelico, and Filippo Lippi (circa 1406-69), and Raphael's exceptional Transfiguration, Coronation and Foligno Madonna.

The Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) are second only to the Sistine Chapel in artistic interest -- and draw crowds comparable to the Sistine's as well. In 1508 Pope Julius II employed Raphael, on the recommendation of Bramante, to decorate the rooms with biblical scenes. The result was a Renaissance tour de force. Of the four rooms, the second and third were decorated mainly by Raphael. The others were decorated by Giulio Romano (circa 1499-1546) and other assistants of Raphael; the first room is known as the Stanza dell'Incendio, with frescoes of the fire (incendio) in the Borgo neighborhood by Romano.

The frescoed Stanza della Segnatura (Room of the Signature), where papal bulls were signed, is one of Raphael's finest works; indeed, they are thought by many to be some of the finest paintings in the history of Western art. This was Julius's private library, and the room's use is reflected in the frescoes' themes, philosophy and enlightenment. A paradigm of High Renaissance painting, the works here demonstrate the revolutionary ideals of the time: naturalism (Raphael's figures lack the awkwardness of those painted only a few years earlier); humanism (the idea that human beings are the noblest and most admirable of God's creations); and a profound interest in the ancient world, the result of the 15th-century rediscovery of classical antiquity. Theology triumphs in the fresco known as the Disputa, or Debate on the Holy Sacrament. The School of Athens glorifies some of philosophy's greats, including Plato and Aristotle at the fresco's center. The pensive figure on the stairs is thought to be modeled after Michelangelo, who was painting the Sistine ceiling at the same time Raphael was working here. Michelangelo does not appear in preparatory drawings, so Raphael may have added his fellow artist's portrait after admiring his work.

The tiny Cappella di Nicholas V (Chapel of Nicholas V) is aglow with frescoes by Fra Angelico (1387-1455), the Florentine monk whose sensitive paintings were guiding lights for the Renaissance. The Appartamento Borgia (Borgia Apartment) is worth seeing for the elaborately painted ceilings, designed and partially executed by Pinturicchio. Among the frescoes, look for the Borgia's family emblem, the bull, and for the blond Lucrezia, the Borgia pope's daughter, posing piously as St. Catherine.

In 1508, while Raphael was put to work on his series of rooms, the redoubtable Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint single-handedly the more than 10,000-square-foot ceiling of the Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel). The task cost the artist four years of mental and physical anguish. It's said that for years afterward Michelangelo couldn't read anything without holding it up over his head. The result, however, was the masterpiece that you now see, its colors cool and brilliant after restoration. Bring a pair of binoculars to get a better look at this incredible work (unfortunately, you're not allowed to lie down on the floor to study the frescoes above, the viewing position of choice in decades past; by the time you leave the chapel your neck may feel like Michelangelo's, so you may also want to study it -- to take a cue from 19th-century visitors -- with the aid of a pocket mirror).

The ceiling is in essence a painted Bible: Michelangelo's subject was the story of humanity before the coming of Christ. Although some of the frescoed panels are veritable stews of figures, others -- especially the depiction of God's outstretched hand giving Adam the spark of life in the Creation of Adam -- are forcefully simple, revealing how much Michelangelo brought to painting from the discipline of sculpture. In 1541, some 30 years after completing the ceiling, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the Last Judgment on the chapel's altar wall. If the artist's ceiling may be taken as an expression of the optimism of the High Renaissance, the Last Judgment, by contrast, is a virtual guided tour through hell. The aged and embittered Michelangelo painted his own face on the wrinkled human skin in the hand of St. Bartholomew, below and to the right of the figure of Christ, which he clearly modeled on the Apollo Belvedere (on exhibit in the Vatican galleries). This is not surprising, since in the intervening years Rome had been sacked and pillaged by mercenary troops of Charles V in 1527, who used the Sistine Chapel as a stable.

In only a few years the grim Counter-Reformation began, and suddenly the nudity in Michelangelo's Last Judgment was so repugnant to the papal court that the artist Daniele da Volterra (1509-66) -- forever after known as il braghettone (the breeches-maker) -- was ordered to paint loincloths over the offending parts. Like the ceiling, the Last Judgment has been cleaned; the restoration was unveiled in April 1994, surprising viewers with its clarity and color. Was Michelangelo truly a master of vibrant color? Or is the "new" Sistine a travesty of the artist's intentions? Opinions remain divided, but most art historians believe the restoration is true to Michelangelo's original vision.

In all, the Vatican Museums offer a staggering foray into the realms of art and history -- so much that it's foolhardy to try to see all the collections in one day. www.vatican.va. EUR12; free last Sun. of month. Mid-Mar.-Oct., weekdays 8:45-4:45, no admission after 3:45, Sat. and last Sun. of month 8:45-1:45, no admission after 12:20; Nov.-mid-Mar., Mon.-Sat. and last Sun. of month 8:45-1:45, no admission after 12:20.
 

Palazzo Altemps
Address: Piazza Sant'Apollinare 46, Rome, Italy
Phone: 06/39967700 Location: near Piazza Navona Category: Museums/Galleries

From Fodors.com:
If you're interested in ancient sculpture, you should not miss one of Rome's greatest collections of classical antiquities, housed in this 16th-century building. It displays the collections of ancient Roman and Egyptian sculpture of the Museo Nazionale Romano. Look for two works in the famed Ludovisi collection: the large, intricately carved Ludovisi Sarcophagus and Galata, a poignant work portraying a barbarian warrior who chooses death for himself and his wife rather than humiliation by the enemy. The palace's stunning courtyard and gorgeously frescoed ceilings and loggia make an impressive setting for the sculptures. EUR5. Tues.-Sun. 9-7:45.
 

Palazzo Corsini
Address: Via della Lungara 10, Rome, Italy
Phone: 06/68802323 Location: Trastevere Category: Castles/PalacesMuseums/Galleries

From Fodors.com:
This elegant palace holds the 16th- and 17th-century painting collection of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica; even if you're not interested in the paintings, stop in to climb the extraordinary 17th-century stone staircase, itself a drama of architectural shadows and sculptural voids. The adjacent Corsini gardens, now Rome's Giardino Botanico, offer a welcome break with native and exotic plants and a stunning view at the top. www.galleriaborghese.it. EUR4. Tues.-Sun. 8:30-
 

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
Address: Piazza del Collegio Romano 2, Rome, Italy
Phone: 06/6797323 Location: near Piazza Venezia Category: Museums/GalleriesCastles/Palaces

From Fodors.com:
The 18th-century facade of this palazzo on Via del Corso is only a small part of a bona fide patrician palace, still home to a princely family that rents out many of its 1,000 rooms. Visit the remarkably well preserved Galleria Doria Pamphilj, a picture gallery that gives you a sense of the sumptuous surroundings of a Roman noble family and how art was once put on display: numbered paintings (the museum catalog, available from the bookshop, comes in handy) are packed onto every available wall space. Pride of place is given to the famous (and pitiless) portrait of the 17th-century Pamphilj pope Innocent X by Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), but don't overlook Caravaggio's poignant Rest on the Flight into Egypt. The audio guide is by the current Doria Pamphilj prince himself and gives a fascinating personal history of the palace. www.doriapamphilj.it. Galleria Doria Pamphilj EUR7.30, includes audio guide. Fri.-Wed. 10-5