About three years ago the Italian Government invited the architects and
artists of the world to furnish competitive designs for a national monument
to be erected to the memory of King Victor Emanuel II. at Rome. More than
$1,800,000 were appropriated for the monument exclusive of the foundation.
It is very seldom that an artist has occasion to carry out as grand and
interesting a work as this was to be: the representation of the creator of
the Italian union in the new capitol of the new state surrounded by the
ruins and mementos of a proud and mighty past. Prizes of $10,000, $6,000,
and $4,000 were donated for the first, second, and third prize designs
respectively. Designs were entered, not only from Italy, but also from
Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, England, and America, and even from
Caucasus and Japan.
[Illustration: THE UNION OF ITALY. SACCONI'S PRIZE DESIGN FOR THE
NATIONAL MONUMENT, ROME, ITALY.]
The height and size of the monument were not determined on, nor was the
exact location, and the competitors had full liberty in relation to the
artistic character of the monument, and it was left for them to decide
whether it should be a triumphal arch, a column, a temple, a mausoleum, or
any other elaborate design. This great liberty given to the competitors was
of great value and service to the monument commission, as it enabled them
to decide readily what the character of the monument should be but it was a
dangerous point for the artists, at which most of them foundered. The
competition was resultless. Two prizes were given, but new designs had to
be called for, which were governed more or less by a certain programme
issued by the committee.
In place of the Piazza de Termini, a square extending from the church of
St. Maria degli Angeli to the new Via Nazionale, to which preference was
given by the competitors, the heights of Aracoeli were chosen. The monument
was to be erected at this historic place in front of the side wall of the
church, with the center toward the Corso, high above the surrounding
buildings. The programme called for an equestrian statue of the King
located in front of an architectural background which was to cover the old
church walls, and was to be reached by a grand staircase.
Even the result of this second competition was not definite, but as the
designers were guided by the programme, the results obtained were much more
satisfactory. The commission decided not to award the first prize, but
honored the Italian architects Giuseppi Sacconi and Manfredo Manfredi, and
the German Bruno Schmitz, with a prize of $2,000 each; and requested them
to enter into another competition and deliver their models within four
months, so as to enable the commission to come to a final decision. On June
18, the commission decided to accept Sacconi's design for execution, and
awarded a second prize of $2,000 to Manfredi.
Sacconi's design, shown opposite page, cut taken from the _Illustrirte
Zeitung_, needs but little explanation. An elegant gallery of sixteen
Corinthian columns on a high, prominent base is crowned by a high attica
and flanked by pavilions. It forms the architectural background for the
equestrian statue, and is reached by an elaborately ornamented staircase.
Manfredi's design shows a handsomely decorated wall in place of the
gallery, and in front of the wall an amphitheater is arranged, in the
center of which the equestrian statue is placed. Bruno Schmitz' design
shows a rich mosaic base supporting an Ionic portico, from the middle of
which a six column Corinthian "pronaos" projects, which no doubt would have
produced a magnificent effect in the streets of Rome.
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