The Capitoline: Michelangelo's hill above the Forum
The Cordonata, Michelangelo's piazza, the balcony over the Forum, and the wedding-cake Vittoriano. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Piazza Venezia
Start at the chaos — Rome's busiest junction, where five roads and every bus seem to meet. Get your bearings under the white bulk of the Vittoriano, then turn your back on the traffic and head up the hill to its left.

2. The Cordonata
Michelangelo's wide ramped staircase, designed to be ridden up on horseback. The two Egyptian lions at the bottom, the Dioscuri at the top. Take it slowly; the gradient is gentle on purpose and the reveal at the top is the reward.

3. Piazza del Campidoglio
The first modern square in Europe, paved in Michelangelo's star pattern around a copy of the Marcus Aurelius bronze. The Capitoline Museums frame two sides. You don't have to go in, but the original bronze horse is inside, worth the ticket.

4. The Forum overlook
Walk round the right-hand side of the central palazzo to the railing. Below you, the whole Roman Forum opens out — the columns, the arches, the Palatine behind. The best free view in Rome, and most people miss it for the museum.

5. Santa Maria in Aracoeli
Back at the top of the Cordonata, the steep brick staircase to the left climbs to a plain-fronted church hiding a gilded ceiling and frescoes. A hundred and twenty-four steps; skip it if your legs are done, but the calm inside is total.

6. Vittoriano terraces
End on the great white monument itself — the terraces are open and free, and the lift to the very top isn't. Either way the view over the Tridente and the domes is the landing. Drop down the far side toward the Forum and Colosseo Metro.

The Capitoline: Michelangelo's hill above the Forum