The square and the flight of steps (cordonata)
The trapezoidal area of the square is marked out by the presence of the two opposite-facing Museums whose symmetrical façades contrast with that of Palazzo Senatorio, which, together with the two museums, make up the backdrop to this square.
![La cordonata che sale alla piazza del Campidoglio La cordonata che sale alla piazza del Campidoglio](https://museicapitolini.org/sites/default/files/storage/images/musei/musei_capitolini/sede/piazza_e_palazzi/piazza_e_cordonata/7630-1-ita-IT/piazza_e_cordonata.jpg)
Michelangelo originally designed the pedestal of the gilded bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius so as to make it the centre-piece of the piazza, imagining it to be in the middle of an oval space filled with a star-shaped pattern. The paving of this area, which was originally bare earth, was carried out immediately but it was not until 1940 that the star-shaped motif was added.
The flight of steps leading up the Capitoline from Campus Martius was also constructed, marking a definitive shift of the hill's main axis-line towards the modern city, and away from its ancient position facing the Roman Forum.