Hotel Barocco Rome

Michelangelo never saw it finished.
He died in 1564, his masterpiece still unbuilt above the drum. Twenty-six years later, architect Giacomo della Porta completed what Michelangelo could only dream, in just 22 months, with 800 workers laboring day and night.
Here's what most don't know: to guide his crew, Della Porta drew the entire cupola in 1:1 scale on the floor of another basilica -San Paolo fuori le Mura - because the drawings were too complex for paper.

The result? The tallest dome in the world at 136 meters. A structure so iconic it inspired the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington.
Romans call it il Cupolone - the big dome - with the same warmth you'd use for an old friend who's always been there.
25 minutes from Hotel Barocco. Our Concierge books your climb.