Vittorio Emanuele II Monument - Rome landmark

 ‘Altar of the Fatherland’ built to honour unified Italy’s first king

The Monument's multi-layered construction in white
marble has earned it the nickname the 'wedding cake'

The foundation stone of Rome’s huge Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II was laid on this day in 1885 in the presence of his son and successor Umberto I and his family.

The monument, which took half a century to fully complete, occupies a site on the northern slope of the Capitoline (Campidoglio) Hill on the south-eastern side of the modern city centre, a few steps from the ruins of the Forum, the heart of ancient Rome.

Built in white Botticino marble, the multi-tiered monument is 135m (443 ft) wide, 130m (427 ft) deep, and 70m (230 ft) high, rising to 81m (266ft) including the two statues of a chariot-mounted winged goddess Victoria on the summit of the two propylaea. 

Its appearance has earned it various nicknames, ranging from the ‘wedding cake’ to the ‘typewriter’, although it is officially known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria - the Altar of the Fatherland.

The Altare della Patria is actually just one part of the monument, at the front and in the centre, consisting of an inset statue of the goddess Roma and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where two soldiers guard an eternal flame.

Vittorio Emanuele II is commemorated with a
huge bronze statue at the front of the monument

Above it is a large bronze horse-back statue of Vittorio Emanuele II himself on a central plinth in front of the broad upper colonnade.  The statue, 10m (33ft) long and 12m (40ft) high, is said to have been made with 50 tons of bronze obtained by melting down army cannons.

Officially opened in 1911 on the 50th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, the monument has become a national symbol of Italy, representing the values of freedom and unity, which are represented in the two chariots atop the propylaea - on the left is the Quadriga dell'Unità by Carlo Fontana, on the right the Quadriga della Libertà by Paolo Bartolini.

The Vittoriano has an important ceremonial role. On three occasions each year - on Liberation Day (April 25), Republic Day (June 2) and Armed Forces Day (November 4) - the President of the Republic lays a laurel wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to honour those who sacrificed their lives in the service of the country.

It also houses the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento Italiano al Vittoriano, the museum that commemorates the decades-long struggle for Italian unification, known as the Risorgimento.

The idea of building a permanent monument to Vittorio Emanuele II was first mooted soon after his death in 1878, when a Royal Commission set up to have responsibility for the project invited architects to put forward their ideas in a competition.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the Italian
president lays a laurel wreath on state occasions

The winner was a French designer, Henri-Paul Nénot. However, the idea of entrusting a non-Italian with what would become a symbol of the nation provoked such fierce opposition, not least because Nénot’s entry was one he had previously submitted for a project in Paris, that the contest was declared void and another one staged.

After the Commission could not decide between designs submitted by the Italians Manfredo Manfredi and Giuseppe Sacconi, and the German Bruno Schmitz, a third contest took place, which was won by Sacconi, an architect from Le Marche, whose design envisaged a neoclassical interpretation of the nearby Forum.

Such was the scale of the project, including the vast Piazza Venezia that the monument overlooks, a wide area of mediaeval and Renaissance streets and buildings had to be demolished. A small building to the right of the Vittoriano, at the foot of the stairway leading to the adjoining Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, is all that remains.

Building proceeded slowly and was still some way from complete when Sacconi died in 1905. The project was continued by Gaetano Koch, Manfredi and Pio Piacentini and though it was inaugurated during the international exhibition for the 50th anniversary of unification in 1911, it was not considered complete until 24 years later.

During this time, the body of the Italian Unknown Soldier was placed in the crypt under the statue of the goddess Roma. This took place on Armed Forces Day in 1921, when the remains of an unidentified soldier killed in the First World War were interred in a solemn ceremony and the eternal flame was lit.

Finally, in 1935, the monument was declared to be fully completed with the addition of the museum of the Risorgimento, which occupies the space between the propylaea on the upper level. 

The entrance to the Museo del Risorgimento
can be found on Via San Pietro in Carcere

Travel tip:

Open to the public since 1970, the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento Italiano - the National Museum of the Risorgimento - takes visitors on a tour of the Risorgimento in 14 stages, beginning with the Napoleonic period at the end of the 18th century and ending with the First World War, marking major events such as the uprising known as the Five Days of Milan, the two wars of independence and Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Expedition of the Thousand. It celebrates the roles of Garibaldi, the revolutionary philosopher Giuseppe Mazzini, the politician Cavour (Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour) and Vittorio Emanuele II himself. Visitors access the museum via an entrance on Via San Pietro in Carcere, to the rear of the monument.

Rome's ancient Forum, an area of extensive ruins,
is one of the city's most popular attractions

Travel tip:

Rome's historic Forum, the ruins of which can be found immediately behind the Vittoriano, was at the heart both of the ancient city of Rome and the Roman Empire itself, the nucleus of political affairs and commercial business, a place where elections took place and great speeches were made.  The site fell into disrepair with the fall of the empire and over time buildings were dismantled for the stone and marble, with much debris left behind.  Eventually it was abandoned and became overgrown and was used mainly for grazing cattle.  Attempts at uncovering and restoring buildings began in the early 19th century and the process of excavating areas long buried continues today.  The impressive and extensive ruins are now one of Rome's major tourist attractions.  The site opens at 8.30am and closes one hour before sunset and visitors should allow at least two hours to explore.

Also on this day:

1837: The birth of ‘La Castiglione’ - mistress of Napoleon III

1921: The birth of actor and director Nino Manfredi

1986: The death of fraudster Michele Sindona

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Vincenzo Gemito - sculptor

Neapolitan who preserved figures from local street life

Gemito's statue, Il giocatore di carte, so impressed Vittorio
Emanuele II he placed it on permanent display in a museum

Vincenzo Gemito, one of the sculptors responsible for eight statues of former kings that adorn the western façade of the Royal Palace in Naples, was born on this day in 1852.

The statues are in niches along the side of the palace that fronts on to the Piazza del Plebiscito, displayed in chronological order beginning with Roger the Norman, also known as Roger II of Sicily, who ruled in the 12^th century, and ends with Vittorio Emanuele II, who was on the throne when his kingdom became part of the united Italy in 1861.

Gemito sculpted the fifth statue in the sequence, that of Charles V, who was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to 1556 and, by virtue of being king of Spain from 1516 to 1556, also the king of Naples.

Born in Naples, Gemito’s first steps in life were difficult ones.  The son of a poor woodcutter, he was taken by his mother the day after his birth to the orphanage attached to the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata Maggiore in the centre of the city and left on the steps.

He was brought up by a family who adopted him after two weeks at the orphanage. It is thought that his adoptive father, an artisan, encouraged him to work with his hands and even before the age of 10 he was working as an apprentice in the studio of Emanuele Caggiano.  He was enrolled into the Naples Academy of Fine Arts when he was 12.

Gemito's Il pescatorello

Gemito was known for the outstanding realism in his work, as can be seen in his sculpture Il giocatore di carte – the Card Player - which he created when he was only 16, which depicts a boy seated with one leg crossed, the other bent so that the knee is level with his chin, scratching the side of his head with one hand while he contemplates the cards he holds in the other.

It was such an impressive piece of work that after it has been exhibited for the first time in Naples, the King, Vittorio Emanuele II, purchased it and had it placed on permanent display in the Museo di Capodimonte.

Where many other sculptors created romanticised figures or works of fantasy, Gemito was fascinated by what he saw around him, on the streets of Naples, and it was everyday scenes that were his inspiration.  Another brilliant example of his eye for detail, especially for facial expression and natural poses, was Il pescatorello – the Fisherboy – which shows a boy, his fishing rod tucked under his arm, looking down at the fish he has just caught, which he clutches to his chest with both hands.

Gemito moved to Paris in 1877, where he forged a friendship with the French artist Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier and created new works in various media, exhibiting in major salons and galleries, and at the Universal Exposition of 1878. It was at the Paris Salon - the official exhibition of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts – that his Fisherboy was unveiled, a work greeted with such acclaim that he won widespread fame, as well as lucrative commissions for portraits.

He remained in Paris for three years before returning to Naples. He settled on the island of Capri for a short time, where he married.

The Royal Palace in Naples, with the eight statues inset in
niches along the frontage overlooking Piazza del Plebiscito

Back in Italy, Gemito constructed his own foundry on Via Mergellina in Naples, where he revived a Renaissance process for using wax for bronze casting.

The commission to create a marble statue of Charles V, to be erected as part of the changes made by Umberto I of Savoy to the frontage of the Royal Palace, came in 1888.

It caused Gemito much anxiety. He did not like working with marble and suffered a crisis of confidence, doubting his ability to produce a statue that would meet expectations. He finished the job but became so depressed he suffered a mental breakdown. He became a virtual recluse, living in a one-room apartment and several times being admitted to a mental hospital.

For the next 21 years he produced only drawings and did not resume his sculpting career until 1909. 

In 1911, by which time he had turned to using gold and silver, he created another masterpiece, a severed head of Medusa in partial gilt silver, which again was notable for the realism of expression and the intricacy of detail.

In 1952, Gemito’s life was commemorated in an Italian postage stamp issued to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of his birth.

The waterfront at Mergellina, with Vesuvius in the distance

Travel tip:

Mergellina is a coastal area of city of Naples, technically in the district of Chiaia, standing at the foot of Posillipo Hill and facing Castel dell'Ovo.  It was once a fishing village entirely separate from Naples but was incorporated into the Naples metropolitan area in the early 20^th century.  Today it has an important tourist harbour for ferries from the islands of Ischia, Capri and Procida and points on the Campania mainland. It is also a popular area for seafood restaurants.

Almost always thronged with tourists, the
bustling Piazzetta is at the heart of Capri town

Travel tip:

Capri, an island situated off the Sorrentine peninsula on the south side of the Bay of Naples, has been a popular resort since Roman times.  In the 19^th and early 20^th century, it was a place to which many wealthy intellectuals and authors were drawn. Norman Douglas, Maxim Gorky, Graham Greene and Axel Munthe were among the authors who chose to live there for parts of their careers.  It has been a magnet, too, for figures from the entertainment world. The English singer and actress Gracie Fields spent many years at her villa there; today, the American singer Mariah Carey has a property on the island.  Tourists are drawn to Capri town, the pretty harbour Marina Piccola, the Belvedere of Tragara  - a panoramic promenade lined with villas - the limestone sea stacks known as the Faraglioni, the Blue Grotto and the ruins of Roman villas.

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