The religiously important head hill -- Capitoline -- (460 m long northeast to southwest, 180 m wide, 46 m above sea level high), the hill smallest of the seven in area, was situated between Rome's heart (the forum) and the Campus Martius (the field of Mars, basically, just outside the ancient city limits). The Capitoline was located within the earliest city walls, the Servian Wall, in their northwestern section. It was like the acropolis of Greece, serving as a citadel in the legendary period, with sheer cliffs on all sides, except the one that used to be attached to the Quirinal Hill. When Emperor Trajan built his forum he cut through the saddle connecting the two.
The Capitol hill was known as the Mons Tarpeius. It is from the Tarpeian Rock that some of Rome's villains were tossed to their deaths on the Tarpeian crags below. There was also an asylum Rome's founding king Romulus was said to have established in its valley.
The name of the hill comes from the legendary human skull (caput) found buried in it (Livy I.55). It was the home to the temple of Iovis Optimi Maximi (Jupiter best and greatest) that was built by the Etruscan kings of Rome.
When the Gauls attacked Rome, the Capitoline did not fall because of geese who honked their warning. From then on, the sacred geese were honored and annually, the dogs who had failed in their job, were punished. The temple of Juno Moneta, possibly named moneta for the warning of the geese, is also on the Capitoline. This is where coins were minted, providing the etymology for the word "money".
The assassins of Caesar locked themselves in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter after the murder.
Ancient Rome Picture Gallery
Reference: Rome and Environs, by Filippo Coarelli.
