In the morning our Hotel shuttle took us and dropped us off downtown Rome. This was the first building we came upon. "The tomb of the Unknown Soldier"
Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II
1895, built for the first King of Italy and it sits between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitline Hill. It is huge and is clearly visible to most of the city of Rome. The monument is also glaringly white, made up of pure marble making it highly conspicuous amidst the generally brownish buildings surrounding it. Although Rome's surrounding brownish buildings were once covered in pure "white" marble, it is criticized by most and architecturally, locals compare it to a wedding cake, a Victorian typewriter, or even a set of dentures.
This is a huge equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel (King) and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on four horses. The structure is 135 m (443 ft) wide and 70 m (230 ft) high. If the team of four horses and winged Victories are included, the height is to 81 m (266 ft).
The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of Italy after World War I. The body of the unknown soldier was chosen on October 26, 1921 from amongst 11 unknown remains by Maria Bergamas, whose only child was killed during World War I. The child's body was never found.
1 comment:
Wow! There is so much there I could use in Geometry. I would love to visit there. I didn't know that about the picking of the remains-- so hard for that mother.
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