The
Capitoline Hill (; ; ), between the
Forum and the
Campus Martius, is one of the
Seven Hills of
Rome. It was the
citadel (equivalent of the
ancient Greek acropolis) of the earliest
Romans. The name
capitol seems to have meant "dominant height", although ancient tradition places its origin in
caput ("skull": a specific skull found while laying the Temple of Jupiter foundation). By the 16th century,
Capitolinus had become
Capitolino in
Italian, with the alternative
Campidoglio stemming from
Capitolium, one of the three major spurs of the
Capitolinus (the others being
Arx and
Tarpeius). The English word derives from
Capitoline. The Capitoline contains few ancient ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval and Renaissance
palaces (now housing the
Capitoline Museums) that surround a
piazza, a significant urban plan designed by
Michelangelo.