The world’s tallest monolithic obelisk is in Rome
The obelisks found in Rome always amaze visitors, who expect to find the city’s most famous monuments and not Egyptian constructions. Just think that Rome is the city with the most obelisks in the world; these date back to the time of Augustus when Egypt was under Roman rule. Deporting these structures, important to the Egyptians, was considered a sign of the empire’s power.
Later more obelisks were built by the Romans in imitation of Egyptian ones, however, in the time of Emperor Domitian. Of all the obelisks in the capital, the tallest in the world is in St. John Lateran Square: the Lateran obelisk. It is Egyptian-made and is 32.18 meters high. Its construction dates back to the 15th century BC, which is why it is also the oldest in the Eternal City.
The Lateran obelisk represented the wish of Emperor Constantius II, who had it brought to Rome in 357. Initially, however, it was located in the Circus Maximus, near the Flaminian Obelisk. For many years it remained underground, but in 1588 it was reassembled (3 pieces were found) and placed in St. John’s Square near the back entrance of the church in Rome.
What are the obelisks to be discovered in Rome?
Besides the Lateran obelisk, you can see other obelisks in the city:
- the Aurelian obelisk at the Pincio Hill, built at the behest of Emperor Hadrian (it is so named because it was found near the Aurelian Wall)
- the Flaminian obelisk (of Egyptian origin) in Piazza del Popolo
- the Roman-made Sallustian obelisk in Viale Trinità dei Monti
- campense obelisk (Egyptian origin) in front of the Parliament
- the Macutean obelisk, of Egyptian origin, in front of the Pantheon
- the city’s smallest Egyptian obelisk, Minerveo. In Minerva Square
- roman obelisk in Piazza Navona: Agonal
- the Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican
- the obelisk of Santa Maria Maggiore, Esquiline Hill
- the obelisk of Villa Celimontana on the Caelian Hill
- the obelisk of Dogali, via the Baths of Diocletian
Other modern obelisks can be found at Villa Medici, in the park of Villa Torlonia, at the Foro Italico, in Piazza Marconi, and finally the work created by Arnaldo Pomodoro is Novecento and is located near the Sports Palace in Rome.
Main photo: Photo: Flickr/Simone Ramella/CC BY 2.0 DEED