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The "Michelangelo Cloister" is a wonderful garden inside the National Roman Museum - Baths of Diocletian in Rome.
The Bath of Diocletian are the most imposing thermal complex ever built in Rome.



The monumental animal heads in marble - a ram,an elephant,a rhinoceros,a camel,a horse,a bull and a hox - had been found in 1586 during reconstruction works of the Palazzo Bonelli,future residence of Cardinal Michael Bonelli.



The Palace stood in the area between Traina Column and the present-day Palazzo Valentini,which hosts the Roman Provincial Offices.



It's probable that the sculptures were originally inside the Temple of the God Traiano,in the area connected to the Forum named after him.



They were used by the Cardinal to decorate the Palace.
Most certainly the rhino and the elephant heads were carved for this reason,both of the Renaissance period.



Some restored elements of the heads go back to that period as well,like the wisps of mane of the horse,the horns of the ox and the ram.





The sculptures remained in the courtyard of Palazzo Bonelli for three centuries and on 1878 they were places in the Roman College.




The present day position dates back to the beginnings of the 1900s.




The heads circle the fountain of the garden built in 1695.




Open every day from 9.00 to 19.45.Last admission at 19.00.
Closed Mondays

Location:
Viale Enrico De Nicola,79 Rome
(TERMINI STATION)

Public Transportation:
Metro Lines A and B, Termini stop

I strongly suggest you to visit this heavenly place!

Claudia