Vittorio Emmanuele II monument was built in 1885 and was inaugurated in 1911 but it took almost twenty years to be completed. The monument symbolizes the unity of Italy, memorializes the first King of a united Italy, Victor Emmanuel II [1820-1878], and has a tribute to the unknown soldier. Most Italians seem to hate this building and regard it as an eye sore.
Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain in Rome. Built alongside the Poli Papace and fed by the aqueduct of the Virgin Waters, it was initially of modest proportions. It assumed grandiose form, 20 meters long and 26 meters high, thanks to the plan of Nicola Salvi in 1732. Finished in 1762, it is one of the last examples of Roman baroque.
Of all ancient Rome's great buildings, only the Pantheon (All the Gods) remains intact. It was built in 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa and was reconstructed by Hadrian in the early 2nd century A.D. This remarkable building, 142 feet wide and 142 feet high (a perfect sphere resting in a cylinder) and once ringed with white marble statues of Roman gods in its niches, is among the architectural wonders of the world because of its dome and its concept of space. The Pantheon is one of the great spiritual buildings of the world. It was built as a Roman temple and later consecrated as a Catholic Church. Its monumental porch originally faced a rectangular colonnaded temple courtyard and now enfronts the smaller Piazza della Rotonda. Through great bronze doors, one enters one great circular room.
Today the tomb of St. Sebastian is in the basilica, but his original resting place was in the catacombs underneath it. The big church was built in the 4th century. The tunnels here, if stretched out, would reach a length of 11km (7 miles). In the tunnels and mausoleums are mosaics and graffiti, along with many other pagan and Christian objects from centuries even before the time of Constantine.
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