ALTARE DELLA PATRIA AT PIAZZA VENEZIA

Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), also known as IL Vittorian is the monument at Piazza Venezia built between 1885 to 1995 to commemorate Italian unification and honor Italy’s first king, Victor Emmanuel.

Piazza Venezia

Piazza Venezia is a famous square in Rome that takes its name after Pietro Barbo, the Venetian Cardinal from Venice (“Venezia” in Italian) who had built Palazzo Venezia (palace).  Altare della Patria seems to be the main attraction at Piazza Venezia.

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Horses from North Africa

Palazzo Venezia was once a residential papal palace from where Venetian Pope Paul II watched robust horses from North Africa race down the length of the Via del Corso. It is said that Napoleon’s mother, Letizia Ramolino once lived here until her death in 1818.

The palace was the first of Rome’s great renaissance palaces built between 1455 and 1464. It is best known as the residence of Mussolini; he made speeches from the palace’s balcony. It has also served as the embassy of the Venetian Republic.

When you get to the top of the stairs of Altare della Patria, there is a tomb of an unknown soldier who lost his life during the First World War; it is guarded by two soldiers.

Getting to Altare della Patria

Altare della Patria is quite a distance from the nearest Metro station which would be ‘Barberini’, about 1.2 km away. Repubblica Metro station is also near the piazza; it’s quite easy to walk from Repubblica metro station as you just go through a straight main highway ‘Via Nazionale’.

Similarly, if you are coming from the Colosseum, you can take ‘Via dei Fori Imperiali’ and Via dei Colosseo’ roads; the distance is about 750 meters. If you feel you cannot walk this distance then your best option would be a taxi.

Address: Piazza Venezia, 00187, Rome, Italy

Metro station: Barberini; Colosseo; Repubblica

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