The monument to King Vittorio Emanuele II (r. 1861-78), which stands on the Riva degli Schiavoni, was created by the Roman sculptor, Ettore Ferrari (1848-1929), and inaugurated on May 1st, 1887. Vittorio Emanuele II was king of the newly created Kingdom of Italy (1861), which Venice and the Veneto joined in 1866. A ferocious-looking winged lion (emblem of the Republic of Venice), its wings unfurled, rests a mighty paw on a tablet, which notes the result of the referendum that was held to decide whether the Venetians (and their compatriots on the mainland) wanted to join the Kingdom of Italy or to remain part of the Austrian Empire, to which it had been attached since 1814. The result was a resounding majority in favour of joining. Comments are closed.
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My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England.
Since 200I I have been living in Italy, where I run private tours of Florence, Rome & Venice. Search Pictures From Italy:
Blog Posts
November 2019
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