The Eiffel Tower? Yes I know this is supposed to be about Italy and the Eiffel Tower is of course in Paris, France, not Italy. But.
the point about the Eiffel Tower is that while tourists flock to it, and identify it as Pariss greatest icon, Parisians themselves detest it. In the middle of the tower there is a posh and expensive restaurant. In the years immediately after the tower was opened the great French novelist Guy de Maupassant used to dine there all the time. Why? asked his friends. Because its the just about the only place in Paris where I cant see the Eiffel Tower, replied the great man.
Rome does not have an exact equivalent of the Eiffel Tower, but many Romans feel the same way about the Vittorio Emmanuel monument, the spectacular and admittedly somewhat grotesque edifice of white Brescian marble that is officially the Altar of the Nation (Altare Della Patria). It is sometimes called the wedding cake, the big white typewriter, or other nicknames that are far too rude for a polite site such as this.
Romans dislike the monument because they think it is over the top, vulgar, and anything but stylish. It is certainly, well, monumental. It is overpowering in both concept and design, and it undoubtedly dominates the busy Piazza Venezia.
Building started in 1885 and was not completed for another 26 years. The idea was to create an unforgettable and unmistakeable landmark in the centre of the city to commemorate and celebrate the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century. Vittorio Emmanuel 2 was the first king of the unified country.
The setting is indubitably magnificent: the forum is adjacent and the Monte Capitolino is immediately to the rear, and the great towering monument commands the entire length of the Via Corso, perhaps Romes most famous, if not its most sophisticated, shopping street.
It was in the middle of 2007, in an effort to attract more tourists to the monument, that Mayor Walter Veltroni sanctioned a new feature designed to make it much more popular of two high speed glass elevators, complete with attendants, that whisk visitors up to the high top for a mere seven euros (good value in my opinion).
The elevators are discreetly sited so that they do not spoil the front of the building (not that, for many Romans, this is a consideration, for they avert their eyes as they go past the monument anyway).
The flat platform area at the top is surprisingly spacious, and is an effective belvedere - the views are exceptional. It is not, despite the height, exposed and need not worry those who suffer from vertigo. Also, to return to the point about de Maupassant and the Eiffel Tower, it is very difficult to see the actual monument, because you are on top of it!
Several large and very powerful telescopes have been provided for visitors, and their use is free. So I suppose the vantage point may in time become a voyeurs paradise. But the innocent views of the varied and glorious Rome skyline are sensational, and there are several very clear and well presented displays to help tourists pick out the key features - many of them of course being the domes and towers of Romes multiplicity of splendid churches.
The cars taxis and buses buzzing round the Piazza Venezia far below seem tiny as does the Forum, a little further away. The view down the Via Corso towards the Piazza del Popolo is stunning.
Rome is a complex city to navigate, and difficult for the visitor to master. Often tourists struggle for days to get their bump of locality. So the terrific view in all directions (apart from two small blind spots to either side) is very useful. It is like having a real life streetplan, three dimensional and alive, set out before you. You are at the epicentre of the city, and as you note the various landmarks and place them in context, the complicated geography of the city becomes a little clearer.
There are even excellent views (and here the telescopes are particularly useful) of sights further afield, such as the delightful hill towns of the Castelli Romani.
Whether or not this bold move of making the top of the much-mocked monument a major attraction for the worlds tourists will help to revive the buildings reputation is open to question. But at least this new tourist honeypot should also help to entice visitors into the excellent museum and gallery in the heart of the monument. Here are displayed some fascinating memorabilia of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the unifier of Italy and the perhaps her greatest national hero.
There are also many well presented mementoes from the time of the Risorgimento, the heroic and bloody struggle for unification. There is an attractive self-service caffè, and another feature is the tomb, complete with eternal flame, of Italys Unknown Warrior, who fell in one of the bloody mountain battles of the First World War, when Italy took on and defeated both Austria and Germany.
Finally, a cultural note: The monument features prominently in the feature film The Belly of an Architect (1987), which is perhaps the best, and certainly the most available, movie by the celebrated avant garde British director Peter Greenaway. It stars the American actor Brian Dennehy and Stefania Cassini. Many of the scenes in Belly, which is visually sumptuous, are set high up on the monument.
Indeed it could be argued that it is the controversial monument itself that is the real star of this terrific movie.
Harry Reid
