The world's oldest public museum, on Rome's sacred hill.
Rome, Italy Founded 1471
In 1471 Pope Sixtus IV gave a group of ancient bronzes to the people of Rome, and the Capitoline Museums are often called the oldest public museum in the world. They stand on the Capitoline Hill, around a square designed by Michelangelo.
The collection is the story of Rome itself: its founding legend, its emperors and the everyday life of the ancient city, with a view over the Roman Forum from the galleries.
Connected empires: Roman Empire
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Persepolis, Susa and seven thousand years of Persia.
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The town that gave a whole civilization its name.
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Buddhist treasures from the valley of Udyana.
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The life of the Buddha, told in Gandhara stone.
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Where Alexander's Greeks met the monks of Gandhara.
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Nefertiti, rebuilt from the ruins of war.
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A planned city, 4,500 years old, on the banks of the Indus.
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The Ottoman Empire's first museum, in the palace gardens.
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The old pink palace of the pharaohs on Tahrir Square.
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Five thousand years of South Asia under one red-brick roof.
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Tutankhamun's full treasure, beside the Pyramids of Giza.
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The Parthenon's treasures, in sight of the Parthenon.
