The Vittoriano, or Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, towers over Piazza Venezia with its white marble façade, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. Conceived in 1878 after the death of the first king of unified Italy, designed by the architect Giuseppe Sacconi and inaugurated in 1911, it houses the Altar of the Fatherland and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Altar of the Fatherland is free to visit every day from 09:30 to 19:30; the €18 ticket covers the panoramic terrace by lift, the Central Museum of the Risorgimento and Palazzo Venezia. Allow 30 minutes for the steps and the altar, 1.5 hours with the terrace and the museum.
Highlights
The façade and the equestrian statue
The monument rises in flights of steps and terraces to a long colonnade, framed by two propylaea topped with bronze quadrigas. In the centre stands the bronze equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II. Its whiteness and bulk earned it the Roman nicknames "the typewriter" and "the wedding cake".
The Altar of the Fatherland and the Unknown Soldier
Beneath the statue of the goddess Roma, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has held since 1921 the remains of an Italian soldier of the First World War. Two soldiers guard it at all times and the guard changes every hour. Access is free; food and drink are not allowed inside the monument.
The panoramic terrace
A glass lift rises in about one minute, past Santa Maria in Aracoeli, to the terrace at the top of the monument, 70 metres up. The 360-degree view takes in the [Colosseum](/fr/attractions/colisee-rome), the Imperial Forums and the domes of the historic centre. As you step out of the lift, the two bronze quadrigas celebrate the Unity and Freedom of Italy.
The Sommoportico
The upper portico, behind the colonnade of the façade, is included in the ticket and offers an open view over Piazza Venezia and down Via del Corso.
The Central Museum of the Risorgimento
Housed inside the monument, it traces the unification of Italy in the 19th century and the First World War through documents, paintings, uniforms and weapons.
Palazzo Venezia
Across the square, this Renaissance palace houses the National Museum of Palazzo Venezia, included in the same ticket. Its Great Garden (Giardino Grande) is free to enter.
Opening hours and tickets
The Vittoriano and the Altar of the Fatherland are free to visit every day from 09:30 to 19:30. The single ticket costs €18 (temporary exhibition included) and €5 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25; it is free for under-18s and disabled visitors. It covers the Sommoportico, the panoramic terrace by lift, the Central Museum of the Risorgimento and Palazzo Venezia, and stays valid for seven days from the chosen entry date. Entry is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, with a ticket valid on that day only. Buy online from the official ticket office or at the desk, open until 18:45; last lift to the terrace at 19:00.
Infos pratiques
Tips
The ticket desk closes at 18:45: to enjoy the evening light on the terrace, buy your ticket before then or online (prices checked in October 2026). The toilets are accessible with your ticket's QR code, or for €1. On the way out, the nearby Cordonata takes you in two minutes to [Piazza del Campidoglio](/fr/attractions/place-du-capitole-rome).
How to get there
Piazza Venezia, 00186 Rome; free access by the steps of the façade, on the Piazza Venezia side. Metro Colosseo (line B) or Colosseo-Fori Imperiali (line C), then about 15 minutes on foot along Via dei Fori Imperiali. Buses 40, 64, 70 and 170 and tram 8, Piazza Venezia stops, at the foot of the monument.
Opening hours
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