Il Vittoriano is an enormous white marble monument, decked out with columns and statues.

The guard is at first deferential and polite to Queen Dana.

But when he suggests they
get better acquainted at Rome's
Motel 6 around the corner...

...the Queen rapidly
defends her own honour.

It seems we've
reached an impasse.

When the real gladiators ended up in this spot, they'd switch
to rock-paper-scissors.

I totally thought we
might've found a new
Roman drinking buddy...

...till he badgered me to pay him
twice what we agreed on for this
impromptu photo shoot.

"You'll take four Euros and like it, or taste the splinters of justice!"

Il Vittoriano was built in tribute to the first king of a united Italy.

the church of Santa Maria di Loreto, across the plaza from Il Vittoriano

The building honors
Vittorio Emanuele II, who
was previously king of Sardinia.

Il Vittoriano was constructed between 1885 and 1911.

It's so big, it blocks the views of almost everything else in this part of Rome, including the Forum.

Locals refer to Il Vittoriano
as "the wedding cake"
or "the typewriter."

Ancient ruins and medieval churches were destroyed to
make room for this behemoth.

Mussolini liked to
hold rallies here.

Near the middle is Italy's Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier, guarded
by two sentries of honor.

Before that statue was welded together, metalworkers held a dinner for 20 in the horse's belly.

3:07 pm: We start walking
northwest, toward the Pantheon.

Everyone drives fast and with a purpose, though pedestrians may have trouble guessing the purpose, what with the total lack of designated lanes and all.

Public buses and
horse-drawn carriages
share the
same urban streets.

Feel like a concert before you
go in to buy some clothes?

Dana heads up a narrow street adorned with hanging red Christmas bulbs.