Castles · Tour

The Balcony Mussolini Spoke From, and the Terrace Behind the Chariot

The Palazzo Venezia in Rome, with reserved entry, plus the Museum of the Risorgimento and the Vittoriano monument on the same ticket. The palace has two very different pasts in the same walls: popes slept here, and from the balcony on its front Mussolini addressed the crowds in the square below. The visit starts in the tour operator's office with a multimedia video on ancient Rome. A host then takes you across the square to the glass elevator of the Vittorio Emanuele II monument. The chariot statue on top of that great marble block conceals a terrace, and the lift goes up to it: from there the view runs the full circle over the city. Inside is the Central Museum of the Risorgimento, with the Shrine of the Flags, and the paintings, sculpture, drawings, engravings, weapons and memorabilia of Italian unification. A Rome audio guide app runs on your own phone, so the Palazzo Venezia and the Risorgimento museum are visited at your own pace.