At the centre of Rome, this huge and busy square was extensively remodelled in 1911 when the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II was erected. Palaces border it on all sides: Palazzo Venezia to the west, Palazzo Bonaparte (where Napeoleon’s mother died in 1836) to the north, Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali di Venezia (early 20C) to the east , and to the south the controversial Vittoriano.