page_title: Victor Emmanuel II Monument
section_title: The portico and the propylaea
hierarchical_section_title: Victor Emmanuel II Monument / Architectural and artistic works / The portico and the propylaea
caption_attribution_description: English: Piazza Venezia in rome
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: Continuing to climb the stairway beyond the equestrian statue of Victor Emmnauel II, is the most imposing and striking architectonic element—the large portico with Corinthian-style columns, slightly curved, located on the top of the monument, and inserted between two temple propylaea called "sommoportico" due to its elevated position. The propylaea are the two small porticos projecting with respect to the portico which are located at its lateral ends that constitute the entrances.
  The portico is 72 m (236 ft) long and is centrally supported by 16 15 m (49 ft) tall columns surmounted by Corinthian capitals, embellished by the face of the Italia turrita (located in the centre) and acanthus leaves. The cornice above the colonnade is instead decorated with statues representing the 16 allegorical personifications of the Italian regions where each statue corresponds to a column. Giuseppe Sacconi was inspired by the Temple of Castor and Pollux located in the Roman Forum near the Vittoriano.
  Each propylaeum has a bronze statue depicting quadrigae, each one hosting a Winged Victory. The architectural and expressive synergies of the triumphal arches are thus re-proposed—the allegorical meaning of the "quadriga", since ancient times, is in fact that of success. This concept is reinforced by the presence of the Winged Victories, messengers descended from heaven by the divinities who flank the winner of a military battle as their favourite.
  The two quadrigae, as the Latin inscriptions placed on the pediments of the underlying propylaea expressly declare, symbolize the freedom of the citizens ("Civium Libertati", right) and the unity of the homeland ("Patriae Unitati", left), the two concepts pivots that inform the entire monument and are attributed to the sovereign Victor Emmmanuel II. The implicit message is that Italy, once again a single political group and gained independence, leaving behind the glories of Rome and the pomp of the papal court, is ready to spread a new Italian Renaissance articulated on the moral virtues represented allegorically in the Vittoriano.
  The concepts "freedom of citizens" and "unity of the homeland" also summarize the fundamental themes that characterized the beginning and the end of the contribution given by Victor Emmanuel II to the Unification of Italy. Having ascended the throne for a few months, he published the proclamation of Moncalieri (20 November 1849) which confirmed the survival of the liberal regime even in the repressive period following the wave of revolutions of 1848. His political work had ended with the capture of Rome (20 September 1870), which became the capital, although the unification of Trentino-Alto Adige and Julian March (annexed only in 1919 after the First World War) were still missing. The quadrigas, already planned in the original project, were built and positioned in 1927. Inside the pediments of the two propylaea are sculptural groups that have the same theme as the respective quadrigas above.
  The interior spaces of the portico and the propylaea can be accessed through two triumphal entrance stairways located at each propylaeum. The two entrance staircases are located on a small shelf that can be reached via a short staircase that joins the terrace of the redeemed cities. At the base of the entrance stairway of the propylaea are located four statues of Winged Victories on triumphal columns, made in 1911—two are at the entrance to the right propylea, and two at the entrance to the left propylea.
  Each entrance leads to a large quadrangular vestibule, in dialogue with the outside due to a colonnade, and from the vestibules one enters the interior spaces of the portico. These rooms are decorated with mosaics, important works of floral Liberty and pictorial symbolism, which cover the lunettes and the two domes of the propylaea. Even the mosaics have as their subject the metaphorical representation of virtues and feelings, very often rendered as allegorical personifications, which animated Italians during the unification of Italy. The interiors of the portico are decorated with
caption: The artistic gate that closes the entrance to the Vittoriano
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