Altare della Patria The Altare della Patria ( Altar of the Fatherland ) also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II ( National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II ) or " Il Vittoriano " is a controversial monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel , the first king of a unified Italy , located in Rome , Italy . It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill . The eclectic structure was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885 ; sculpture for it was parceled out to established sculptors all over Italy , such as Leonardo Bistolfi and Angelo Zanelli . It was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1925 . The monument is built of white marble from Botticino , Brescia , and features stairways , Corinthian columns , fountains , an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadriga s . The structure is wide and high . If the quadrigae and winged victories are included , the height is to . The base of the structure houses the museum of Italian Unification . In 2007 , a panoramic elevator was added to the structure , allowing visitors to ride up to the roof for 360 degree views of Rome . Unknown soldier . The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame , built under the statue of Italy after World War I following an idea of General Giulio Douhet . The body of the unknown soldier was chosen on 26 October 1921 from among 11 unknown remains by Maria Bergamas , a woman from Gradisca d ' Isonzo whose only child was killed during World War I . Her son ' s body was never recovered . The selected unknown was transferred from Aquileia , where the ceremony with Bergamas had taken place to Rome and buried in a state funeral on 4 November 1921 . Military Colours . The flags of disbanded units of the Italian Armed Forces , as well as the flags of ships stricken from the naval register of the Italian Navy are stored at the Vittoriano in the so - called Shrine of the Flags ( " Sacrario delle Bandiere " ) . The oldest flag on display is the flag of the 19th - century frigate " Giuseppe Garibaldi " . Controversy . The monument was controversial since its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill with a Medieval neighbourhood for its sake . The monument itself is often regarded as pompous and too large . It has been described as being " chopped with terrible brutality into the immensely complicated fabric of the hill . " It is clearly visible to most of the city of Rome despite being boxy in general shape and lacking a dome or a tower . The monument is also glaringly white , making it highly conspicuous amidst the generally brownish buildings surrounding it , and its stacked , crowded nature has lent it several nicknames . Foreign people sometimes refer to the structure by a variety of nicknames , such as " the wedding cake " , whereas Romans commonly call it " the typewriter " , although " the zuppa inglese " is also common . Despite all this criticism , the monument still attracts a large number of visitors . Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi fostered the opening of the " Vittoriano " as a public forum and viewpoint over the City core . This new accessibility allowed visitors to become familiar with the landmark , enabling it to grow in popular , if not critical , reputation .