Finding a solution for the side overlooking the Imperial Forums

In 1911, for the inauguration, the eastern side of the Vittoriano was a long way from being finished, especially due to the structural damage that had come about since 1900, in the midst of construction work. 

From 1912 and for the following ten years, there were multiple studies and proposals to find a definitive solution to the structural problems. Finally, in June 1922, the Artistic Direction of the Vittoriano, composed of the architects Manfredo Manfredi (1859-1927) and Pio Piacentini (1846-1928), presented an overall construction and redevelopment project. 

Approved in 1923 by the High Council of Public Works, the Manfredi-Piacentini project included, among other things, the construction of a 19 x 21 metre block, consisting of two superimposed quadrangular halls to be allocated for use as the Central Museum of the Risorgimento and a building to connect with the portico of the Ara Coeli monastery, built in the second half of the sixteenth century by Jacopo Barozzi, known as ‘Vignola’ (1508-1573).