Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II rises from the northern edge of Piazza Venezia as one of Rome's most commanding pieces of civic architecture. Constructed in white Botticino marble and completed in the early twentieth century, it was built to honour the first king of unified Italy and to mark the new nation's ambitions in stone. Romans have long called it the Altare della Patria, the Altar of the Fatherland, a name that reflects its role as a site of national memory. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded around the clock, sits at its base beneath a perpetual flame.

Visitors can explore the Altar of the Fatherland itself, which houses the Museo del Risorgimento, a collection tracing the political and military events that forged modern Italy. A glass elevator ascends to the very top of the monument, offering a panoramic view across the Roman roofline, from the Capitoline Hill to the dome of St Peter's Basilica in the distance.