The Monument to the Bersagliere is a statuary monument located in Piazzale di

Porta Pia Porta Pia is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by Michelangelo in replacement for the P ...

, near the spot, where Italian soldiers were able to breach the city walls of Rome in 1870, thus leading to the integration of Rome into the Kingdom of Italy. The monument stands to the north of the gate, outside the walls. Attached to the gate buildings, designed by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, that once represented Porta Pia, is a Museum of the History of the

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

(Museo Storico dei Bersaglieri), established here in 1921. Plans for a monument were proposed as early as 1923, but placed in abeyance by Mussolini in order not to antagonize the papal administration. Starting in 1926, negotiations led to the 1929

Lateran treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

between Italy and the Vatican. In 1930, a public competition for a design garnered 24 submissions. The committee, influenced by Mussolini, chose the design by

Publio Morbiducci Publio Morbiducci (28 August 1889 – 31 March 1963) was an Italian sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was active in projects for the Mussolini government. In 1932, ...

. The statue was inaugurated on 18 September 1932 in the presence of King

Vittorio Emanuele III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...

, Prince Umberto,

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

Achille Starace Achille Starace (; 18 August 1889 – 29 April 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy before and during World War II. Early life and career Starace was born in Sannicola, province of Lecce, in southern Apulia. His father was a wine and oi ...

, and the Governor of Rome Francesco Boncompagni Ludovisi. The fascist government favored virile and bellicose monuments, recalling or inspiring the dreams of empire. The monument has a statue of a dynamic and stern bersaglieri or marksman, running towards the gate, made of bronze, with the rifle in his right hand and the trumpet in his left. The large oval travertine base was made by the sculptor Mancini, with a series of bas-reliefs in Trani stone depicting Bersaglieri-linked battles or soldiers, sculpted by Morbiducci, including the Battle of Ponte di Goito, the death of

Luciano Manara Luciano Manara (23 March 1825 – 30 June 1849) was a Milanese soldier and politician of the Risorgimento era, who took part in the Roman Republic. Life Manara was born in Milan in 1825. A friend of Carlo Cattaneo, in 1848 he participated in the ...

, the breach of Porta Pia, on the left; and the Battle of Sciara Sciat (Shar al-Shatt), the wounding of

Enrico Toti Enrico Toti (20 August 1882 in Rome – 6 August 1916 in Monfalcone) was an Italian cyclist, patriot and hero of World War I. Life Enrico Toti was born and raised in San Giovanni, a popular district of Rome, by his father Nicola Toti, a ra ...

, the death of Alberto Riva di Villasanta, on the right. Under the reliefs, are two inscriptions in geometric sans serifs (with the V substituting for U: one by Mussolini himself: "Just a century of history, but how many sacrifices, how many battles and how much glory!". The other by Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Duke of Aosta: "Nothing resists the sharpshooter".Sovraintendenza Roma
entry on monument.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bersaglieri Rome Monuments and memorials in Rome Italian fascist architecture 1932 sculptures