This huge monument by Giuseppe Sacconi, which was begun in 1885
and inaugurated in 1911, was erected in honor of King
Victor Emmanuel II, who achieved the unification of Italy in
1870 with Rome as the capital city. The dazzling white marble
clashes with the warm tones of the Roman townscape
and the grandiloquent style strikes a jarring note. The monument
has been given several nicknames, including the "wedding cake" and the
"typewriter". A very broad flight of steps flaned by two allegorical groups in
bronze gilt representing Thought and Action, leads up to the Altar to the Nation;
the steps divide before meeting at an equestrian state of
Victor Emmanuel; they then divide again and lead up to concave portico, which is
surrounded by two bronze quadrigas bearing statues of winged victory. The foot
of the stairway is flanked by two
fountains representing the Tyrrhenian Sea (right) and the Adriatic sea (left).
|
