The Vittoriano, from monument to museum showcase

In the original project by Giuseppe Sacconi (1854-1905) the Vittoriano was to lean on the Capitol. However, already in the mid-eighties, the friable nature of the ground required the construction of impressive substructures in the intermediate levels, in order to make the building self-supporting. Thus a series of vast covered and connected spaces was created, which many people, starting with Sacconi himself, considered ideal for hosting museums

The idea of using the new, vast interior spaces of the Vittoriano to house the Museum of the Risorgimento can be said to have occurred around 1890. In a report dated 1891 we read that "the galleries for the Museum of the Risorgimento" were already covered and built: these "galleries" should be identified with the spaces now used for the Shrine of the Flags.

In the report drawn up in 1905, shortly before his death, Sacconi included three museums in the Vittoriano, the Museum of Crowns, the Museum of the Risorgimento, and the Museum of Flags. The first one  was to be created on the ground floor, the second on the intermediate level, the third in the so-called "stylobate rooms", that is the gallery at the base of the Main Colonnade and the halls at the head of the Propylaea.