Rome’s Victor Emmanuel II National Monument

The National Monument was built in honor of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. As old as the Roman Empire is, Italy as a nation was only completed in 1871 when Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. This monument is to celebrate the consolidated of all of the different states of the Italian peninsula.

The National Monument sits between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. As our taxi driver explained, they built it on top of existing ancient Roman ruins. I personally would prefer the ancient ruins, but hey, this is definitely impressive.

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My favorite pic in this spot was a lovely bride snapping a pic of her new husband and his pals. A modern woman!