In a location so near the residence of the pope himself, literally only a few steps away from St. Peter’s Basilica it was necessary to erect a structure which would sufficiently emphasize the beginning of a new era in the history of Rome and Italy, to which subsequent popes would not give their blessing. Considering themselves to be prisoners of the Vatican, they looked on with disapproval upon the actions of Italian kings, taking away their goods, status and significance.

The bridge was named in honor of the first king of united Italy – Victor Emmanuel II, who died in Rome in 1878 and was buried on the Pantheon. Already being planned in 1889 it was to honor his name and accomplishments. Its construction, as well as that of the new state took some doing as it was not made operational until 1911 – to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the existence of the kingdom as well as of the unification of Italian lands under the rule of the House of Savoy. This significant date was commemorated with the opening of other, equally pompous structures – the Palace of Justice (Palazzo di Giustizia) found nearby, the so-called Altar of the Fatherland (Vittoriano), as well as the Museum of Modern Art (Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna).

The bridge, 109 meters in length, allowed for a rapid connection between the city center (through the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele II) and the Borgo and Vatican. Looking in one direction we will notice the charming Sant’Angelo Bridge, while in the other – the ruins of the ancient Neroniano Bridge. The designer of Ponte Vittori Emanuele II was Ennio de Rossi, while its decorations were entrusted to a group of sculptors. The result of their work was the four, bronze Victories on high pedestals (completed by Luigi Cassadi, Amleto Cataldi, Elmo Palazzi, and Francesco Pifferetti), as well as four, carved in travertine, allegorical sculpting groups, which on one hand were to refer to important moments in the history of the new state, on the other – show the virtues of King Victor Emmanuel II as the protector of the people, guardian of the law and constitution and a brave soldier. Due to a delay in the works on the aforementioned groups, which were completed by such artists as: Giuseppe Romagnoli, Italo Griselli, Cesare Reduzzi, Giovanni Nicolini, they were replaced with the proper sculptures in 1912. In this way there were in fact two inaugurations – one in 1911, the other a year later.

Let us take a closer look at these travertine groups, since they are the ones that give the bridge  particular value. At the same time it cannot be denied, that for an educated man of the beginning of the XX century, familiar with academic art of those times, whose pathos was a sort of daily bread, these representations, deeply rooted in the allegorical meanders, were most likely more obvious than they are for us at the present. Today they neither arouse emotions, nor draw the attention of passersby, while they are best admired from opposite sidewalks, which is made more difficult by constant traffic on the bridge.

The first group (looking on from the Corso Vittori Emanuele II) expresses praise for the king’s loyalty to the Albertine Statue of 1849, meaning his de facto support for the constitution, since based on this statue Italy became a constitutional monarchy. This is made visible by a woman wielding a torch of liberty, accompanied by figures, which – interestingly enough – seem to be protecting the flame from a wind coming from the Vatican. The next group, surrounding a figure in a Greek helmet, with a shield and sword, was to recall the military skills of the Italian ruler. On the other side (looking on from the Vatican) there is a woman – Monarchy consoling her people in time of the great flood of 1870. The king visiting the victims of the flood and helping them, is shown here as a protector of the people and the Father of the Fatherland. And finally the last group which is an allegory of the political triumph of the king and of the Italians themselves, at the moment of the proclamation of the Italian state in 1861 and the election of Victor Emanuel II as monarch. These groups had to fulfill certain expectations – be a patriotic manifest, whose principal figure was the king – the force holding together the new state, but they also had to satisfy those who were opposed to the monarchy. These were the disconsolate supporters of the republic, as well as the ever-growing throngs of the unemployed or badly paid workers and the liberal circles, criticizing the limits put upon civic liberties by Humberto I (the successor to Victor Emanuel II). In this situation it was the socialists, anarchists and liberals who gained power, while the new country was often besieged by protests in which people died. The best proof of political crisis was the murder of King Humberto I, carried out in the year 1900 by an anarchist.

When the bridge was opened, the throne had, for the past eleven years, been occupied by a grandson of Victor Emanuel II – Victor Emanuel III, who was also not spared by history, although he was kept alive, albeit – as it would turn out – without a crown or a fatherland.