Altar of the Fatherland

This guide to the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome tells the story of Maria Bergamas, a mother from northeastern Italy whose son vanished in the First World War, who was asked in 1921 to choose one of eleven unidentified soldiers' coffins to become Italy's Unknown Soldier. It follows the casket's journey to Rome and the flame that has burned here ever since, and traces the monument's decades-long construction to honor Victor Emmanuel II. Romans call the gleaming white structure the wedding cake.