Vittoriano (the Altare della Patria, the Altar of the Fatherland, officially the Mausoleo e Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano): the massive neoclassical monument at Piazza Venezia built between 1885 and 1911 to commemorate the first king of unified Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II (who died in 1878, never seeing the monument completed): the most visually dominant single structure in central Rome (the 135m-wide and 70m-tall white marble mass that occupies the entire northern side of Piazza Venezia, visible from every elevated point in the city), and simultaneously the Roman monument that the city's own inhabitants most consistently mock (the specific nicknames, "la torta nuziale" (the wedding cake), "la macchina da scrivere" (the typewriter), and "la dentiera" (the set of false teeth), that the Romans invented to express their aesthetic ambivalence about the monument's massive white presence in the terracotta and ochre Roman historic center).
The monument history: the specific Giuseppe Sacconi design (the 1885 competition winner whose specific neoclassical program (the Corinthian colonnades, the equestrian bronze of Vittorio Emanuele II at the center of the main terrace, the Vittoria (Victory) quadriga on the attic corners, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (the Milite Ignoto, the unknown Italian WW1 soldier's tomb installed in 1921 at the Altare della Patria itself (the specific altar below the equestrian statue), guarded by an eternal flame and the continuous military honor guard that the Italian Army has maintained without interruption since 1921): the Milite Ignoto guard (the two Italian soldiers who stand motionless at the Altare della Patria for their one-hour shift at all hours, all days, all weather conditions, the most specifically moving single military tradition visible to the Rome visitor).
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Vittoriano: Free Terrace, Paid Lift, and Museum
The Free Terrace
Vittoriano free terrace (the first terrace level, the main terrace at the level of the equestrian statue and the Altare della Patria, accessible from Piazza Venezia by the central staircase at no charge): the free terrace visit (the main terrace panorama, the Fori Imperiali visible to the east, the Capitolino hill to the right, the Circus Maximus direction to the south, and Piazza Venezia immediately below): the free terrace is the correct access point for the visitor seeking the Vittoriano panoramic experience at zero cost, the terrace view is already comprehensive and provides the specific Fori Imperiali vista that no other Rome viewpoint provides at this height (approximately 20m above Piazza Venezia level). Open daily 9:30-17:30.
Vittoriano Rome: tours & tickets
Compare guided tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips for Vittoriano Rome.
See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Paid Lift to the Cupola
Ascensore del Vittoriano (the paid panoramic lift, the glass elevator on the rear of the Vittoriano monument, ascending to the Cupola level at 70m above street level): the specific cupola view (the 360-degree panorama from 70m, the Roman Forum visible directly below, the Palatine Hill with the imperial palaces at the same eye level, and the complete city panorama from the Apennines to the Tyrrhenian visible on clear days): admission approximately €7 adults. Open daily 9:30-18:00 (extended hours in summer). The cupola lift is the single most effective single-investment panoramic experience in Rome, the €7 cupola admission versus the €20+ for the St Peter's dome climb (which is higher but requires 550 steps), the Castel Sant'Angelo admission (€15), and the equivalent Pincio and Gianicolo views (free but lower).
The Museum
Museo del Risorgimento (inside the Vittoriano, the Museum of Italian Unification covering the Risorgimento period (the 1848-1870 movement for Italian national unity) with the specific documentary exhibition (the proclamations, the uniforms, the weapons, and the portraits of the Risorgimento figures. Garibaldi, Mazzini, Cavour)): open Tuesday-Sunday 9:30-18:30. Admission free. The specific museum value: the Risorgimento documentation provides the historical context for the monument itself and for the 1861-1870 political events that the monument was built to commemorate.
Q&A: Vittoriano Rome
Why do Romans hate the Vittoriano?
The specific Roman aesthetic objection to the Vittoriano (the monument that the Romans didn't want, didn't choose, and live with): the monument displaced the medieval Arx Capitolina quarter (the medieval neighborhood on the Capitoline hill approach that the Sacconi construction program demolished), used Botticino marble (the white limestone from Brescia that Sacconi chose over the traditional Rome travertine), and produced the most massive single insertion into the Rome historic center skyline since the construction of St Peter's dome, the visual dominance of the white marble over the terracotta Roman skyline is the specific aesthetic objection that the Roman eye makes every time it tries to frame a historic center view. The specific Romans' paradox: the monument that the Romans mock is the one that the international visitors most consistently photograph as the Rome landmark, the specific cultural dissonance between the local and the international aesthetic is the Vittoriano's most enduring characteristic.
