We then moved on to Capitoline Hill, which, along with the Palatine and the Forum made up the core of Ancient Rome. At the base of the hill there are two staircases that veer off in slightly different directions. Up the left staircase is a dour brick wall that is the non-facade of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, up the right is the ornate plaza designed by Michelangelo to house Rome's government. Being contrarians, we opted for the stairs up to ugliness. The church was built in the sixth century over a temple to Juno, and couldn't be less welcoming. However, inside is another story entirely, as its baroque interior holds its own against the best of Italy. The ornateness of the interior is probably due to the fact that it houses (or housed) a very special guest. There was a wooden statue of the baby Jesus, carved by angels out of the olive trees of the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was captured by the Romans in the first step toward his crucifixion. The angelic origins of this baby weren't sufficient to protect it from thieves, so a merely manmade replacement baby now occupies the cradle.