Piazza del Campidoglio

Rome's smallest hill was for centuries its most important: the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus stood here. The square you see today is Michelangelo's, entirely redesigned by him from 1536 — the gently ramped staircase, the palaces set in a trapezium, the oval pattern of the paving. On either side, the Capitoline Museums: the oldest public collection in the world.

Did you know: The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at the centre is a copy: the original is sheltered inside the Capitoline Museums. It survived being melted down because in the Middle Ages it was believed to portray Constantine, the first Christian emperor. From the terrace behind the Palazzo Senatorio you look down over the Forum, free of charge.

✦ The legend: In 390 BC the Gauls entered Rome and climbed the Capitol by night, the last stronghold left. The sentries were asleep and the dogs did not bark, but the geese sacred to Juno, kept in the temple, heard the footsteps and set up such a din that they woke Marcus Manlius. The citadel was saved, and ever after the geese enjoyed honours in Rome that the dogs never did.