Fodor's Expert Review Museo Palatino

The Palatine Museum charts the history of the hill from Archaic times, with quaint models of early villages (on the ground floor), to Roman times (on the ground and upper floors). There is a good video reconstruction of the hill in Room V on the ground floor, as well as a collection of colored stones used in the decorations of the palace, with a map showing the distant imperial regions whence they came. Upstairs, the room dedicated to Augustus houses painted terra-cotta moldings and sculptural decorations from various temples—notably the Temple of Apollo Actiacus, whose name derives from the god to whom Octavian attributed his victory at Actium (the severed heads of the Medusa in the terra-cotta panels symbolize the defeated Queen of Egypt). There is also a selection of imperial portraits on the upper floor, including a rare surviving image of Nero. The museum closes early, at 3:30 pm.