Day 3: Piazza del Campidoglio, Capitoline Museum and National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II

It was raining cats and dogs today. Therefore, our morning itenary had to be indoor. We went to Capitoline Museum first and spent about two hours admiring the Rome ancient treasures. Since the first day arriving in Rome, we noticed the SPQR and wondered what's the initial means. Guess what! According to wikipedia, SPQR stands for 'Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and the People of Rome"), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government.' You can see this initial around many of the buildings in Rome. We also saw this initial in many of the ancient statues and treasures in this museum. Few famous artefacts in the Capitoline Museum include a bronze of Constantine (head, hand and globe) , Bernini's Medusa, Capitoline She-wolf, Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, and Statue of Hercules in gilded bronze.

We had our coffee break at the museum's restaurant. The view from here was nice. Then on the way out from the Capitoline Museum, we saw a long queau of people waiting to buy the museum tickets. Despite the heavy rain, we decided to visit the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II. The monument museum is free but nothing interesting inside.