The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (Italian: Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II), also known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria (" altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, in Rome, Italy.[2] It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill.

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 (Italian: Altare della Patria), 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. Because of its great representative value, the entire Vittoriano is often called the Altare della Patria, although the latter constitutes only a part of the monument.

Standing in the centre of ancient Rome, and connected to the modern one by the streets that radiate from Piazza Venezia, it has been consecrated to a wide symbolic value representing a lay temple metaphorically dedicated to a free and united Italy—celebrating by virtue the burial of the Unknown Soldier (the sacrifice for the homeland and for the connected ideals).

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The statue is massive, with the horse alone being over 12 meters tall. It showcases the king in a dynamic pose, symbolizing strength and leadership.

The statue was created by Enrico Chiaradia and is renowned for its intricate details and realistic depiction. It's one of the largest equestrian statues in the world.

Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878) was a pivotal figure in Italian history. He was the King of Sardinia-Piedmont from 1849 to 1861 and later became the first King of a unified Italy from 1861 until his death in 1878¹.

Victor Emmanuel II played a crucial role in the Risorgimento, the movement for Italian unification. He worked closely with Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, his Prime Minister, to achieve this goal¹.

He fought in the First Italian War of Independence against Austrian rule in 1848-1849 and later in the Second Italian War of Independence in 18592^1,2. His leadership in battles like Magenta and Solferino was instrumental in liberating Lombardy from Austrian control³.

Under his reign, Italy expanded its territory to include Venetia in 1866 and Rome in 1870, completing the unification process³.

He was succeeded by his son, Umberto I, and is remembered as a key figure in the creation of modern Italy⁴.

His contributions to Italian unification and his leadership have left a lasting legacy in Italian history.

1.en.wikipedia.org 2. bing.com 3. britannica.com 4. thefamouspeople.com