Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is one of Rome‘s most important streets, since it connects the Piazza Venezia to the Tiber river and thus to the Via della Conciliazione and the Vatican City.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II Rome
History and description
The Corso Vittorio was constructed in 1886 and was called after the first King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II. It was a logical development after the realization (in 1871) of the Via Nazionale, which connects the Piazza della Repubblica to the Piazza Venezia.
In 1873 the first plans had been made for the new street, but these were never executed. The idea was to use the already existing Via del Plebiscito and adapt the buildings along this street to the new Corso. In the end the facades of several of these palazzi had to be moved further back. In the end the initial part of the street (starting from Piazza Venezia) is still called Via del Plebiscito. From Piazza del Gesù tot Piazza Pasquale Paoli it is called Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.
Important buildings along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele are the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne, the Palazzo Massimo di Pirro, the Piccola Farnesina, the Palazzo Vidoni, the Palazzo della Valle and the Palazzo Sora.
Curiosities
Although the Corso Vittorio Emanuele is not a very long street (1,4 km), it runs through four different districts, Ponte, Parione, Sant’Eustachio and Pigna.