Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, Bronze memorial statue on Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice, Italy
The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II is a bronze equestrian statue on Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, showing the first king of unified Italy mounted on horseback above a decorated stone pedestal. The pedestal is flanked by female allegorical figures and lion sculptures, and the whole structure stands roughly 33 feet (10 meters) tall.
The monument was made by sculptor Ettore Ferrari and unveiled in 1887, about a decade after Victor Emmanuel II died in 1878. It was one of many national memorials raised across Italy in those years to mark the country's recent unification.
Venetians call it simply "il monumento". The two allegories at its foot mark the city's political turning points: at the back, Subjugated Venice with a broken sword and a Marcian lion biting Austrian chains; at the front, Venice triumphant beside a roaring lion that tears the 1815 Treaty of Vienna and rests its paw on a plaque recording the 1866 plebiscite result, 641,758 yes against 69 no.
The monument stands on Riva degli Schiavoni in the Castello sestiere, beside the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop and in front of the waterfront hotels. It is surrounded by a low bronze railing, so it is viewed from the pavement rather than entered. Walk along the quay on both sides to read the two reliefs on the long sides of the pink granite pedestal.
The front allegory of Venice triumphant has a lion tearing up the 1815 Treaty of Vienna while resting its paw on a plaque recording the 1866 plebiscite: 641,758 votes for yes and 69 for no. The rear figure of subjugated Venice holds a broken sword, and the lion at her feet bites the chains imposed by Austria.
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