Vittoriano – Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II

The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument, known as the Vittoriano, rises above Piazza Venezia in Rome. Designed by Giuseppe Sacconi, it includes the Altare della Patria, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento and the Sacrario delle Bandiere.

Why it matters

The monument commemorates Victor Emmanuel II and Italian unification. Parliament resolved to honour the first king of Italy in 1878, and a competition announced in 1882 led to the selection of Sacconi’s design in 1884. The monument opened unfinished in 1911, during the fiftieth-anniversary celebrations of Italian unification, and was completed in 1935.

What to notice

The Altare della Patria, conceived by Sacconi and decorated by Angelo Zanelli, includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, installed on 4 November 1921 beneath the statue of Dea Roma. The equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II is made of gilded bronze. Above it, quadrigas representing Unity and Liberty raise the monument's skyline. The inscriptions PATRIAE UNITATI and CIVIUM LIBERTATI, and fountains representing the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas, reinforce the monument's national symbolism.

Context and history

Construction transformed Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline slope, requiring the demolition or relocation of medieval and Renaissance buildings, including the Palazzetto Venezia and the church of Santa Rita, which were rebuilt elsewhere. Travertine was replaced by Botticino marble from Brescia, contributing to the monument's pale appearance and nicknames such as the “typewriter” and “wedding cake.” The Museo Centrale del Risorgimento, conceived in 1884, opened in 1970. The Sacrario delle Bandiere preserves flags of disbanded military units and other objects of military history.