The statue of Victor Emmanuel II on horseback

The gilt bronze statue of Victor Emmanuel II on horseback was designed by the Friulian sculptor Enrico Chiaradia (1851-1901). Upon Chiaradia’s untimely death, in 1901, it was completed by the Florentine, Emilio Gallori (1846-1904). The statue was cast in 1906 by the Bastianelli company, which made use of the bronze from some of the cannons of the Royal Army. The final installation of the piece took place in 1910.

The statue of Victor Emmanuel II on horseback represents the visual and spatial fulcrum of the entire Vittoriano complex. Do not let the distance fool you, however, because the scale of the piece is truly remarkable: the statue, which is 10 meters long and 12 metres high, is so large that before being placed on site, the belly of the horse was the venue for a lunch for twenty-one people.

Victor Emmanuel II appears in a full-dress uniform, riding a mount that strides with a solemn, elegant gait. The sculpture is inspired by the long tradition of sovereigns on horseback, which in Rome was embodied to the highest degree by the equestrian monument to Marcus Aurelius, still today in the Campidoglio.