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Ancient Egyptian Obelisks in Rome: "
Due to the efforts of the Roman Emperors, the city holds the greatest concentration of obelisks in the world, with 13 (12 in Rome and one in Vatican City).
After the Roman Empire fell, the obelisks gradually fell to the ground as well, remaining buried until the Renaissance when there began to be interest in them again. At the end of the 16th century (1585-90), in addition to building streets to connect the seven pilgrimage churches in the city, Pope Sixtus V (the severe Counter-Reformation Bishop) conceived of the idea of using the obelisks as markers for pilgrims (he did this with four) who visited Rome; it was his idea to place them in front of the major basilicas so that they might be visible from a distance, “christianizing” them by mounting a cross on the top.
Obelisk in Piazza del Popolo (Rome, Italy)
Keep in mind that not all the obelisks are “original” Egyptian obelisks, meaning that they were not erected in Egypt by a Pharoah and the subsequently shipped off by the Romans when they conquered the region; the “non-originals” consist of Egyptian granite, but were mined subsequent to the Roman takeover and given hieroglyphics once they were brought back to Rome by Egyptian immigrants. A perfect example of this a “non-original” obelisk is the one standing in the the Piazza Navona.
In order of the largest to smallest obelisks in the city:
- Piazza S.Giovanni in Laterano (also the tallest obelisk in the world)
- Piazza S. Pietro (Vatican)
- Piazza del Popolo
- Piazza Monte Citorio (Quirinale hill)
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza dell’Esquilino (behind Santa Maria Maggiore)
- Piazza del Quirinale (a twin of the one at Piazza dell’Equilino)
- Trinità dei Monti (top of Spanish Steps)
- Monte Pincio
- Terme Obelisk (South Garden, Viale delle Terme di Diocleziano)
- Piazza della Rotonda (Pantheon)
- Piazza della Minerva (in Piazza dei Cinquecento)
- Villa Celimontana (the park on Celio hill)
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