The monument to Vittorio Emanuele II is located in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, in the Largo of the same name, at the junction between Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Corso Galileo Ferraris. It is dedicated to

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was Kingdom of Sardinia, King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 Marc ...

, the first

king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

. It was wanted by his son, King

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

, and paid him at his own expense. The monument, in bronze and granite, is the work of architect Pietro Costa. It was erected between 1882 and 1899, through many contrasts with the Turin municipal government. It was inaugurated on September 9, 1899, twenty years after the death of the king. The festivities were great on the day of the inauguration; Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

were illuminated at party. The king's statue rises majestically on tall

Doric columns The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

. In the sculptural groups at the base of the monument are unity, brotherhood, work and freedom. The monument reaches a considerable height of 39 meters. Its height is popularly called "the King on the Roofs" or "Barba Vigiu".

References

{{morecat, date=April 2021 Buildings and structures in Turin Monuments and memorials in Italy Victor Emmanuel II of Italy