another statue of Athena much smaller, in red porphyry and white marble. In 1587, when the branch of the new aqueduct of the Acqua Felice reached the Campidoglio, Pope Sixtus V announced a public competition for the construction of a fountain on the square. Matteo Bartolani's project was the winner. Bartolani was the architect who was initially commissioned to build the Acqua Felice aqueduct. It was a big project, which was only partially realized with the construction of two tanks leaning against the center of the façade of the Palazzo Senatorio, between the statues of the two rivers and under the niche containing Athena. Palazzo Nuovo The Palazzo Nuovo (English: New Palace) was constructed in 1603 to close off the piazza's symmetry and hide the tower of the Santa Maria in Ara Coeli. It was finished in 1654 and opened to the public in 1734. Its façade is an identical copy of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, made using Michelangelo's blueprint when he redesigned the Palazzo dei Conservatori a century earlier. Cordonata The Cordonata (Italian word, from cordone, which in architecture means "linear element which emphasizes a limit") is a wide-ramped road, gradually ascending from the city to the hilltop. It is decorated with various sculptural works. It was built to be wide enough for horse riders to ascend the hill without dismounting. In addition to the statues of the two Egyptian lions in black basalt placed at the base, towards the middle of the climb on the grassy clearing on the left, there is the Monument to Cola di Rienzo of the politician Cola di Rienzo (1313-1354), installed in 1886. At the top of the cordonata are the statues of the Dioscuri, the marble renditions of Castor and Pollux, from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, and two statues of marble weapons from the :it:Ninfeo di Alessandro (Mario's Trophies) of the Piazza Vittorio. The two fountains that in 1588, Della Porta managed to create for the Campidoglio are the two basalt lions on the sides of the base of the cordonata. They were transferred in 1582 from the remains of the "Temple of Isis", which were completed with two marble vases specially built to collect water. The two original lions were transferred in 1885 to the Vatican Museums, but then put back in their place in 1955. Final interventions The Campidoglio square was finished in the 17th century. Benito Mussolini