$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