Vittoriano. Dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel Il, this colossal monument in white calcareous stone, was built between 1885 and 1911 by Giuseppe Sacconi to celebrate ltalian Unity. Academically inspired by classical forms, it is an unhappy example of modem architecture in an ancient setting: the lmperial Forums area. A wide flight of stairs leads up to the Altar of the Nation; a shrine in the centre contains the Statue of Rome, flanked by two high-reliefs of the Triumphal procession of Labour and Patriotic Love; the Tomb of he Unknown Soldier (1921) is at the base of the Statue of Rome. |
Two further stairways lead to the plinth of the bronze Equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II, by Chiaradia and Gallori; the uppermost
level is surmounted by an enormous portico, to which access is gained from the enormous lateral propylaea. |