Editing Capitoline Hill (section)

==Ancient history==
At this hill, the [[Sabines]], creeping to the [[Citadel]], were let in by the Roman maiden [[Tarpeia]]. For this treachery, Tarpeia was the first to be punished by being flung from a steep cliff overlooking the [[Roman Forum]]. This cliff was later named the [[Tarpeian Rock]] after the Vestal Virgin, and became a frequent execution site. The Sabines, who immigrated to Rome following the [[Rape of the Sabine Women]], settled on the Capitoline.<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab urbe condita]]'', 1:33</ref> 

The [[Vulcanal]] (Shrine of Vulcan), an 8th-century BC sacred precinct, occupied much of the eastern lower slopes of the Capitoline, at the head of what later became the Roman Forum. The summit was the site of a temple for the [[Capitoline Triad]], started by Rome's fifth king, [[Tarquinius Priscus]] (''r.'' 616–579 BC),<ref name="a">{{cite book |last=Tacitus |first=Publius |title=The Histories |date=25 June 2009 |publisher=Penguin |page=169 |isbn=978-0-140-44964-8}}</ref> and completed by the seventh and last king, [[Tarquinius Superbus]] (535–496 BC). It was considered one of the largest and the most beautiful temples in the city, although little now remains. The city legend starts with the recovery of a [[human skull]] (the word for head in Latin is ''caput'') when foundation trenches were being dug for the [[Temple of Jupiter (Capitoline Hill)|Temple of Jupiter]] at Tarquin's order. Recent excavations on the Capitoline uncovered an early cemetery under the Temple of Jupiter.{{sfn|Albertoni|Damiani|2008}}

{{Capitoline Hill plan}}

[[File:09780 - Rome - Roman Forum (3505061312).jpg|thumb|The [[Tabularium]], behind the corner columns of the [[Temple of Vespasian and Titus]]]]

There are several important temples built on Capitoline Hill: the temple of Juno Moneta, the temple of Virtus, and the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus is the most important of the temples. It was built in 509 BC and was nearly as large as the [[Parthenon]]. The hill and the temple of Jupiter became the symbols of Rome, the capital of the world.<ref name=Campidoglio>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/campidoglio.htm |title="Campidoglio" accessed march 23, 2012 |access-date=March 30, 2012 |archive-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229112913/http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/capitolinehill.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Temple of Saturn]] was built at the foot of Capitoline Hill in the western end of the Forum Romanum.

When the [[Senones]] Gauls, who settled in central-east Italy, raided Rome in 390 BC, after the battle of River [[Allia]], the Capitoline Hill was the one section of Rome to evade capture by the barbarians, due to its being fortified by the Roman defenders.<ref>{{Harvnb|Aicher|2004|pp=42–71}}</ref> According to legend, [[Marcus Manlius Capitolinus]] was alerted to the Gallic attack by the sacred [[Roman goose| Roman geese]] of [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]].<ref>[http://ancientworlds.net/aw/Places/Place/324684 Ancient Worlds: "Mons Capitolinus"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050522065623/http://ancientworlds.net/aw/Places/Place/324684 |date=2005-05-22 }}.</ref> 

When [[Julius Caesar]] suffered an accident during his [[Roman triumph|triumph]], clearly indicating the wrath of Jupiter for his actions in the [[Caesar's civil war|Civil Wars]], he approached the hill and Jupiter's temple on his knees as a way of averting the unlucky [[omen]]. Nevertheless, he was murdered six months later, and [[Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus|Brutus]] and his other assassins locked themselves inside the temple afterward.<ref>[http://ancientworlds.net/aw/Places/Place/324684 Ancient Worlds: "Mons Capitolinus"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050522065623/http://ancientworlds.net/aw/Places/Place/324684 |date=2005-05-22 }}.</ref>  Vespasian's [[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 47)|brother]] and [[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 69)|nephew]] were besieged in the temple during the [[Year of Four Emperors]] (69). During this incident the temple was destroyed by fire.<ref name="a">{{cite book |last=Tacitus |first=Publius |title=The Histories |date=25 June 2009 |publisher=Penguin |page=169 |isbn=978-0-140-44964-8}}</ref> 

The [[Tabularium]], located underground beneath the piazza and hilltop, occupies a building of the same name built in the 1st century BC to hold Roman records of state. The Tabularium looks out from the rear onto the [[Roman Forum]]. The main attraction of the Tabularium, besides the structure itself, is the [[Temple of Veiovis]].
During the lengthy period of ancient Rome, the Capitoline Hill was the geographical and ceremonial center. However, by the Renaissance era, the former center was an untidy conglomeration of dilapidated buildings and the site of executions of criminals.<ref name="Wallace 2010 229–231">{{cite book|last=Wallace|first=William|title=Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man, and His Times|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|pages=229–231}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Foro romano tempio Saturno 09feb08 01.jpg|The [[Temple of Saturn]] in the [[Roman Forum]]
File:Dianamotemartini.JPG|A statue of the [[Minerva]]/Athena of the Capital at the [[Capitoline Museums|Centrale Montemartini Museum]], Rome.
</gallery>