5/5 Vishwa Nath P. 3 years ago on Google
We
visited
Rome
in
Nov
2012
and
this
monument
was
so
fascinating
ans
incredible
that
its
memories
are
still
fresh
with
us.
The
Victor
Emmanuel
II
National
Monument
(Italian:
Monumento
Nazionale
a
Vittorio
Emanuele
II)
or
(mole
del)
Vittoriano,
called
Altare
della
Patria
(English:
Altar
of
the
Fatherland),
is
a
national
monument
built
in
honour
of
Victor
Emmanuel
II,
the
first
king
of
a
unified
Italy.
It
occupies
a
site
between
the
Piazza
Venezia
and
the
Capitoline
Hill.
It
is
owned
by
the
Ministry
of
Cultural
Heritage
and
Activities.
From
an
architectural
perspective,
it
was
conceived
as
a
modern
forum,
an
agora
on
three
levels
connected
by
stairways
and
dominated
by
a
portico
characterized
by
a
colonnade.
The
complex
process
of
national
unity
and
liberation
from
foreign
domination
carried
out
by
King
Victor
Emmanuel
II
of
Savoy,
to
whom
the
monument
is
dedicated,
has
a
great
symbolic
and
representative
value,
being
architecturally
and
artistically
centred
on
the
Italian
unification
and
for
this
reason
the
Vittoriano
is
considered
one
of
the
national
symbols
of
Italy.
It
also
preserves
the
Altar
of
the
Fatherland
(Italian:
Altare
della
Patria),
first
an
altar
of
the
goddess
Rome,
then
also
a
shrine
of
the
Italian
Unknown
Soldier,
thus
adopting
the
function
of
a
lay
temple
consecrated
to
Italy.
Because
of
its
great
representative
value,
the
entire
Vittoriano
is
often
called
the
Altare
della
Patria,
although
the
latter
constitutes
only
a
part
of
the
monument.
The
monument
has
been
consecrated
to
a
wide
symbolic
value
representing
a
lay
temple
metaphorically
dedicated
to
a
free
and
united
Italy—celebrating
by
virtue
the
burial
of
the
Unknown
Soldier
(the
sacrifice
for
the
homeland
and
for
the
connected
ideals.
One
must
visit
the
monument
without
fail
while
visiting
Rome.