Artaredale Patria

About

The Vittoriano, widely known as the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), is a monumental complex in central Rome honoring Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of unified Italy. Giuseppe Sacconi's design won the competition of 1884, construction began in 1885, and the monument was inaugurated on June 4, 1911, during the fiftieth-anniversary celebrations of unification in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III; work was fully completed in 1935. Built of Botticino marble, it rises 81 meters, with Enrico Chiaradia's bronze equestrian statue of the king at its center. On November 4, 1921, Italy's Unknown Soldier of the First World War was entombed here, making the monument the nation's central place of remembrance. Today it is managed by the VIVE institute (Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia), and a panoramic terrace at the summit, reached by elevator, offers views over Rome.