The statue is located just below the Terrazza Viale del Belvedere, and can be accessed by walking north from the summit of the Spanish Steps, past the Villa Medici.

The Cairoli brothers were part of a smaller contingent who contemporaneously reached Villa Glori in the northern suburbs of Rome, only to be surrounded by the Papal Zouaves.

[1][2] The fifth brother, Benedetto Cairoli, also fought in the Wars of Italian Independence, and later would serve as Prime Minister of Italy, as well as other major leadership positions.

The draped flag over a block engraved with SPQR recalls the group's efforts to liberate Rome or die trying.

The arrangement of two soldiers, one dead and one defiant, recalls the hellenistic model of Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus found in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.