page_title: Victor Emmanuel II Monument
section_title: External staircases and terraces
hierarchical_section_title: Victor Emmanuel II Monument / Architectural and artistic works / External staircases and terraces
caption_attribution_description: English: Monument to the Unknown Soldier, with perpetual flame, with statue of the goddess Rome and guard of honor. At the Altare della Patria in the complex of Vittoriano in Rome, Italy,
context_page_description: The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument or Vittoriano, called Altare della Patria, is a national monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. It is currently managed by the Polo Museale del Lazio and 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—for this reason the Vittoriano is considered one of the national symbols of Italy.
  It also preserves the Altar of the Fatherland, 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.
context_section_description: The exterior staircases of the Vittoriano adapt to the ascending sides of the northern slope of the Capitoline Hill and lead, starting from the entrance of Piazza Venezia, to the terrace of the Altar of the Fatherland, then to the terrace of the redeemed cities (the one immediately below the colonnade of the portico), and finally to the terraces of the two propylaea flanked by the portico constituting the two entrances.
  At the entrance, is an imposing staircase leading to the terrace of the Altar of the Fatherland and of the Italian Unknown Soldier, which represent the first raised platform of the Vittoriano, as well as its symbolic centre. The path along the staircase continues even beyond the tomb of the Unknown Soldier to symbolically represent a continuous and uninterrupted procession of Italians that continues its walk up to the highest point of the construction—the portico and the propylaea.
  The artistic gate of access to the Vittoriano, which is the work of Manfredo Manfredi, has the particularity of being "hidden", that is, of being able to slide vertically underground due to tracks. The plant that allows the lowering of the railing, originally hydraulic, was considered at the time of its construction among the most technologically advanced in the world. The entrance gate has a length of 40 m (131 ft) and a weight of 10,500 tons.
  On both sides of the entrance stairway, are a series of sculptures that accompany the visitor towards the Altar of the Fatherland. The first sculptures that meet are two sculptured groups in gilded bronze, with subjects inspired by the thought of Giuseppe Mazzini, The Thought and The Action (respectively, to the left and right of the staircase for those coming from Piazza Venezia), followed by two sculptural groups (also in this case one on each side) depicting as many Winged Lions and finally, on the top of the staircase, before the beginning of the terrace of the Altar of the Fatherland, two Winged Victorys.
  The Thought and The Action have been fundamental in the Italian unification process, as they are necessary to change the course of history and to transform a society. The overall shape of the two sculptural groups recalls the intrinsic characteristics of the two concepts: The Action has a triangular and angular profile, while The Thought has a circular shape.
  The two Winged Lions represent the initiation of the patriots who decide to join the Italian unification enterprise motivated by ardor and strength, which also control their instinctive side—otherwise the patriots would slide towards the obfuscation of their abilities if the instinct were left completely free. The Winged Victories, in addition to recalling the military and cultural successes of the Roman era, symbolize allegorically the good luck of national unity.
  At the end of the entrance stairway, immediately after the statues of the Winged Victories, opens the terrace of the Altar of the Fatherland, the first raised platform of the Vittoriano, which is dominated centrally by the statue of the goddess Rome and the shrine of the Unknown Soldier. On the terrace of the Altar of the Fatherland are also the Botticino marble sculptural groups that symbolize the moral values of the Italians, or the ideal principles that make the nation firm. The four groups have a height of 6 m (20 ft) and are located to the right and left of the entrance to the terrace of the Altar of the Fatherland (two on each side), sideways to the statues of The Thought and of The Action and in correspondence of the fountains of two seas, along the parapets that overlook Piazza Venezia. The concepts expressed by these four sculptural groups, The Force, The Concord, The Sacrifice and The Right, are the tangible emanation of The Thought and The Action.
  At the sides of the Altar of the Fatherland, the staircase resumes dividing into two symmetrical ramps parallel to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Both reach a pronaos where two large doors open (one on each side, both positioned symmetrically and laterally to the Unknown Soldier, and each in correspondence wit
caption: The colonnade of the portico illuminated in a night photo
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