Why it was built
Unified Italy needed a symbol. After the Risorgimento and the capture of Rome in 1870, the new state sought a monument that would embody the idea of nationhood, the sacrifice for unity, and respect for Italy's first king. Vittorio Emanuele II died in 1878 before the project had been defined, but it was immediately clear that it would bear his name.
The design competition was announced in 1880, and Giuseppe Sacconi won in 1884 with a neoclassical design inspired by Greek and Roman architecture. The choice of site — on the slopes of the Capitoline Hill, at the end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele II — was deeply symbolic: a visual connection between the Capitoline (ancient Rome) and modern Rome.
Construction: forty years of building work
Work began in 1885. The marble used was Botticino from Brescia, a deliberate choice to differentiate the monument from Rome's travertine and dark stone. The blinding white of the Vittoriano was a sign of discontinuity with papal Rome, a declaration of modernity.
Construction involved the demolition of entire medieval and Renaissance blocks on the slopes of the Capitoline, including parts of what was known as the Asylum of Romulus, ancient Roman structures. The controversy was immediate: Romans began calling it ironically the typewriter or wedding cake for its white and ornate form.
The monument was partially inaugurated in 1911 for the fiftieth anniversary of Italian unity, and officially completed in 1935.
The Unknown Soldier and the Altare della Patria
In 1921 the most symbolically important act in the history of the Vittoriano took place: the transfer of the remains of the Unknown Soldier — an unidentified soldier who died in the First World War — to the centre of the monument. The remains were chosen by Maria Bergamas, a mother whose son had been lost in the war, from eleven coffins brought from eleven different battlefields.
The funeral train carrying the remains from Aquileia to Rome was accompanied by crowds along the entire route. On 4 November 1921, the Unknown Soldier was buried in the central crypt of the Altare della Patria, where the Flame of the Unknown Soldier still burns today, guarded continuously by military personnel in dress uniform.
Controversies and paradoxes
The Vittoriano has always been Rome's most debated monument. The most frequent criticisms:
- Visually disproportionate to its context: its white marble contrasts sharply with the ochre stone and brick of historic Rome
- Built on destruction: the demolition of medieval buildings is still lamented by historians and urban planners
- Politically ambiguous: inaugurated under Giolitti and completed under Fascism, the monument carries layers of memory that are difficult to disentangle
Despite everything, it is the place where the Italian Republic holds its most important state ceremonies: 2 June (Republic Day) and 4 November (National Unity and Armed Forces Day). The Flame of the Unknown Soldier has never been extinguished.
With a private driver
Reach the Altare della Patria by private driver. From your hotel, airport or station — direct and on time. Service from €49. → Book at myromedriver.com
Frequently asked questions
Who was Vittorio Emanuele II? The first king of unified Italy (1861–1878), previously King of Sardinia from 1849. The monument was built as a posthumous tribute to the unifier of the country.
Is the Unknown Soldier still there? Yes. The crypt containing the remains and the Flame is visitable on the ground floor of the monument, guarded 24 hours a day by military personnel in dress uniform.
Why do Romans call it the "wedding cake"? Because of its white and richly ornate form, which contrasts visually with the rest of Rome's historic centre. The nickname is affectionate rather than purely sarcastic.
Article no. 181 — TIER S — MON-10 Altare della Patria / Vittoriano Type: HISTORICAL Words: ~690