A marble covering for the Capitoline Hill

Is there anything quite as dramatic as a building designed to be a literal "national style"? Giuseppe Sacconi wanted to create a neoclassical echo of the Roman Forum, and he succeeded in making a massive, marble covering for the northern slope of the Capitoline Hill. Built between 1885 and 1935 to honor Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, the structure was meant to communicate imperial splendor. It mixes Greek and Roman influences with eclectic bits that felt patriotic enough at the time.

It serves as a secular temple where the Altar of the Fatherland sits. It is a place for a "patriotic walk," though the architects were so obsessed with the concept of unity that the path actually has no architectural end. You can enter through either of the two lateral propylaea. One is dedicated to the unity of the homeland, and the other to the freedom of the citizens. It is a lot of heavy symbolism for one pile of stone.

Today, you can still walk the external staircases, which consist of 196 steps that start from the portico. If you want to skip the stairs, a lift installed in 2007 takes you to the roof. From there, you get a 360-degree view of Rome. The structure occupies a site between Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons