This 200-foot-high, 500 foot wide monument built in 1870 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's unification was right across the street from our apartment and we had passed it several times a day for our entire stay, so we decided it was time to climb it and see what it was all about. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument is built of white marble and features stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel (the first king of a unified Italy), and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding in a chariot. The base of the structure houses the museum of Italian Reunification. In 2007, a panoramic elevator was added to the back, allowing visitors to ride up to the roof for 360 degree views of Rome.
The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of Italy after World War I. The tomb and the eternal flame are guarded twenty-four hours a day by two soldiers and we felt so sorry for them as we would walk by in the rain and see them standing there with only rain ponchos on for protection!
We had to walk about half-way up the monument and then took the fast glass elevator the rest of the way. We were lucky enough to be up at the top on a petty clear day for this view over Rome -- you can even see the dome of St. Peter's on the left-hand side of this picture. There were placards at the top with drawings of the Rome skyline so you could pick out the domes and roof tops in front of you.
From the back of the Victor Emmanuel Monument you have a great view of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.
We walked around our neighborhood a little more before going back to the apartment to finish packing and check out. Somehow we made it across the very busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele street dragging our suitcase behind us to get to the taxi stand at Piazza Venezia. We took a taxi to Termini train station and caught the Leonardo Express to Fiumicino Airport (a.k.a. Leonardo da Vinci) for our nice short flight to Paris Charles de Galle Airport. We landed in Paris at 8:10 PM and took the free CDGVAL shuttle to Terminal 3 - Roissypole. It was just a short walk to the Hilton Paris Charles De Gaulle and we go there sometime after 8:30 PM. Even though it was kind of late we were hungry, so went down to the bar and split a club sandwich with fries (French fries?) and a wine and beer. We were very surprised when we bit into our sandwich to find out it had a fried egg in it!
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