Abstract: This dissertation looks at some of the ways in which monumental sculpture intersects with concerns in literary discourse in Italy in the time period between the end of the Risorgimento and the end of World War I. In particular, it examines how the notion that architectural and literary monuments attempt to solidify the state's authorizing narratives (Hamilton 106) applies specifically to Italy in that era, and shows that the reverse is also true: monuments are the product of certain authorizing narratives, of which they often become a part. I begin with an investigation into the history and purpose of commemoration and monuments in western culture, and how these functions extend to written texts as well. Ultimately, monuments and memorials in their traditional, nineteenth-century sense, express the values of the dominant group within a culture and serve to bolster a sense of commonality and collective identity among the population of a given nation. They are often, but not always (as evidenced by the significant number of 'counter-monuments' I look at), connected to war, imperialism and nationalism, and convey conservative ideas about gender, social class and duty to one's country. After focusing on the images of the king, the soldier, the mother and the nation, and analyzing the themes of nationalism, gender relationships and the sacrifice of the individual for the state in an array of monuments throughout Italy and in a variety of written texts---poems, newspaper editorials, novels, behavior manuals, and speeches, I conclude that in the time period under examination, it was very difficult to publicly commemorate Italian history in a way that did not evoke a sense of national entitlement and reference the duty of Italian citizens to preserve traditional values in order to prevent society from falling into what many politicians and social commentators believed would be a state of chaos. Furthermore, I observe that this phenomenon is relevant to both the era under consideration as well as the current era, which finds Italy in a similar---if less precarious---state of political and cultural disunity.