The Capitoline Museums are housed in two buildings facing each other: the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, or Palazzo del Museo.
Both were built on the Capitoline Hill as part of the layout of the square designed by Michelangelo. Together with the Palazzo Senatorio, which forms the backdrop, they make up a classical area in the heart of Rome.
The foundation of the Capitoline Museums dates back to 1471, when Sixtus IV donated a number of bronze works to the People of Rome: they can therefore rightly be considered the oldest public collection in the world.