Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and patriotism to push his country to the right and embroil the Italians in expensive and
regrettable wars. In 1945, they shot Mussolini and hung him from a meat hook in Milan.
(Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's headquarters are still located—thought-provok-
ingly—just behind Mussolini's. That explains all the security on Via del Plebiscito.)
With your back still to the monument, circle around the left side, and look down into
the ditch on your left to see the ruins of an ancient apartment building from the first century
A.D.
;partofitwastransformedintoatinychurch(fadedfrescoesandbelltower).Romewas
builtinlayers—almost everywhereyougo,there'sanearlierversionbeneathyourfeet.(The
hop-on, hop-off Trambus 110 stops just across the busy intersection from here.)
Continuing on, you reach two staircases leading up Capitoline Hill. One is Michelan-
gelo's grand staircase up to the Campidoglio. The longer of the two leads to the Santa Maria
in Aracoeli Church, a good example of the earliest style of Christian churches (described
earlier). The contrast between this climb-on-your-knees ramp to God's house and Michelan-
gelo's elegant stairs illustrates the changes Renaissance humanism brought civilization.
From the bottom of Michelangelo's stairs, look right several blocks down the street to
see a condominium actually built upon the surviving ancient pillars and arches of Teatro di
Marcello.
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Victor Emmanuel Monument
This oversize monument to Italy's first king, built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
country's unification in 1861, was part of Italy's push to overcome the new country's strong
regionalism and create a national identity. At the base of this statue, Italy's Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier—flanked by Italian flags and armed guards—is watched over by the god-
dess Roma (with the gold mosaic background).
The scale of the monument is over-the-top: 200 feet high, 500 feet wide. The 43-foot-
long statue of the king on the horse is one of the biggest equestrian statues in the world. The
king's moustache forms an arc five feet long, and a person could sit within the horse's hoof.
With its gleaming white sheen (from a recent scrubbing) and enormous scale, the monument
provides a vivid sense of what Ancient Rome looked like at its peak—imagine the Forum
filled with shiny, grandiose buildings like this one.
The “Vittoriano” (as locals call it) is open and free to the public. You can simply climb
thefrontstairs,orgoinsidefromoneofseveralentrances:midwayupthemonumentthrough
doorways flanking the central statue, on either side at street level, and at the base of the
colonnade (two-thirds of the way up, near the shortcut from Capitoline Hill). The little-vis-
ited
Museum of the Risorgimento
fills several floors with displays (free, well-described
in English) on the movement and war that led to the unification of Italy in 1870. A sec-
tion on the lower east side hosts temporary exhibits of minor works by major artists (free
