Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel the Second dominates the north side of the Piazza Venezia with a massive white Brescian marble facade. It stretches over one hundred meters wide, featuring a central equestrian statue of Italy's first king crafted from gilded bronze. Architects designed the structure to celebrate the unification of Italy, but the project required the demolition of a dense medieval and Renaissance neighborhood. Builders leveled entire blocks of homes and churches to create the foundation for this towering, multi-leveled national altar.