Whether ancient or medieval, Italy is home to some of the most impressive structures in the world. However, the Vittoriano, or Altare della Patria officially, is a modern phenomenon. It was built to honor Italy’s, arguably, greatest historical figure, Emmanuel II. Taking inspiration from the great buildings of Rome, the Vittoriano represents the unification of Italy of which Emmanuel II became the first king. It is near the legendary Forum complex and the Capitoline Hill where Rome unified under Romulus.
The story of the Vittoriano goes back to the unification of Italy in the late 19th century. During that century, the Italian peninsula had multiple states governing their own regions independently while sharing the same ancestors. The Kingdom of Naples, the Papal States, the Kingdom of Piedmont and the Kingdom of Two Sicilies occupied different areas but many influential people from these states were calling for their unification. After some time, General Garibaldi gathered his troops and defeated the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. He met with Emmanuel II and proclaimed him as the King of Italy.
Following his naming as king, Emmanuel and Garibaldi continued to unify the peninsula by defeating other state forces and beating Austria in a series of conflicts to annex the Italian-speaking territories under Austria. All in all, Emmanuel and Garibaldi were seen as the founding fathers of the unified Italy. The Vittoriano celebrates the success of their efforts, but since Emmanuel was officially the first king of Italy, the monument is for him, at least in title.
While it looks like it is quite an impressive site, making the Vittoriano took a lot of time and cost a lot of money. Although the workers laid the first stone in 1885, the construction ended in 1935, half a century later.
Moreover, initially, the architect of the complex thought that the construction would cost 9 million. However, after finding out that they needed a better quality stone, the cost went up to 27 million. When the workers finished the building, the result was fantastic. The main attraction of the Vittoriano is surely the equestrian statue of Emmanuel II. The statue is 12 meters tall making it one of the tallest equestrian statues in Europe. In addition, there are a lot of other statues representing historical figures from Italian history and mythical figures from ancient Roman beliefs. Today, nearly 500,000 people visit the Vittoriano every year.
