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The city ofRome harbours thirteen ancientobelisks, the most in the world. There are eightancient Egyptian and fiveancient Romanobelisks in Rome, together with a number of more modern obelisks; there was also until 2005 anancient Ethiopian obelisk in Rome.
The Romans used special heavy cargo carriers calledobelisk ships to transport the monuments down theNile[clarification needed] toAlexandria and from there across theMediterranean Sea to Rome. On site, largeRoman cranes were employed to erect the monoliths.
At least eight obelisks created in antiquity by the Egyptians were taken from Egypt after theRoman conquest and brought to Rome.
| Name | Original Commissioner | Location | Height (with base) | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lateranense | Tuthmosis III /Tuthmosis IV | Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano 41°53′12.6″N12°30′17.2″E / 41.886833°N 12.504778°E /41.886833; 12.504778 (Lateranense) | 32.18 m (45.70 m) | Tallest obelisk in Rome, and the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, originally weighing around 455 tons.[1] From the temple ofAmun inKarnak,map and brought toAlexandria withanother obelisk byConstantius II, and brought on its own from there to Rome in 357 to decorate thespina of theCircus Maximus.map Found in three pieces in 1587, restored approximately 4 m shorter byPope Sixtus V, and erected near theLateran Palace andArchbasilica of Saint John Lateran in 1588 in the place of theequestrian statue ofMarcus Aurelius, which was moved to theCapitoline Hill. Current version weighs around 330 tons.[2] |  |
| Vaticano | Unknown | St. Peter's Square 41°54′8.1″N12°27′26.1″E / 41.902250°N 12.457250°E /41.902250; 12.457250 (Vaticano) | 25.5 m (41 m)[A 1] |  |  |
| Flaminio | Seti I /Ramses II | Piazza del Popolo 41°54′38.6″N12°28′34.8″E / 41.910722°N 12.476333°E /41.910722; 12.476333 (Flaminio) | 24 m (36.50 m) | Originally fromHeliopolis.map Brought to Rome byAugustus in 10 BC with theSolare obelisk and erected on thespina of theCircus Maximus.map Found with theLateranense obelisk in 1587 in two pieces and erected byPope Sixtus V in 1589. Sculptures with lion fountains were added to the base in 1818. Weighs around 235 tons.[2] |  |
| Solare | Psammetichus II | Piazza di Montecitorio 41°54′2.5″N12°28′43.2″E / 41.900694°N 12.478667°E /41.900694; 12.478667 (Solare) | 21.79 m (33.97 m) | Originally fromHeliopolis.map Brought to Rome byAugustus in 10 BC with theFlaminio obelisk to form thegnomon of theSolarium Augusti in theCampus Martius.map Found in the 16th century but reburied. Rediscovered and erected byPope Pius VI in front of thePalazzo Montecitorio in 1792. |  |
| Macuteo | Ramses II | Piazza della Rotonda 41°53′57.6″N12°28′36.3″E / 41.899333°N 12.476750°E /41.899333; 12.476750 (Macuteo) | 6.34 m (14.52 m) | Originally one of a pair at the Temple ofRa inHeliopolis, the other being the now much shorterMatteiano. Moved to the Temple ofIsis nearSanta Maria sopra Minerva. Found in 1373 nearSan Macuto and erected in Piazza Macuta. Moved to the front of thePantheon byPope Clement XI in 1711 over a fountain byFilippo Barigioni. |  |
| Minerveo | Apries | Piazza della Minerva 41°53′52.7″N12°28′39.2″E / 41.897972°N 12.477556°E /41.897972; 12.477556 (Minerveo) | 5.47 m (12.69 m) | Originally one of a pair fromSais. Brought to Rome byDiocletian for the nearby Temple ofIsis. Found in 1655 and erected in 1667 byPope Alexander VII on anElephant base byBernini, behind thePantheon inPiazza della Minerva. The other of the pair is inUrbino. This is the smallest obelisk in Rome, with a height of 5.47 meters.[6][contradictory] |  |
| Dogali | Ramses II | Baths of Diocletian 41°54′7.8″N12°29′50.9″E / 41.902167°N 12.497472°E /41.902167; 12.497472 (Dogali) | ? (6.34 m) | Originally one of a pair fromHeliopolis, the other now in theBoboli Gardens inFlorence. Moved to the Temple of Isis in Rome. Found in 1883 byRodolfo Lanciani nearSanta Maria sopra Minerva. Now commemorates theBattle of Dogali, originally in front of NearTermini Station and moved to its present site in 1924. |  |
| Matteiano | Ramses II | Villa Celimontana 41°53′0.2″N12°29′43.2″E / 41.883389°N 12.495333°E /41.883389; 12.495333 (Matteiano) | 2.68 m (12.23 m) | Originally one of a pair at the Temple ofRa inHeliopolis, the other being theMacuteo which retains much more of its original height. Moved to the Temple of Isis nearSanta Maria sopra Minerva. Found in the 14th century and erected east ofSanta Maria in Aracoeli on theCapitoline. Moved to Villa Celimontana afterMichelangelo redesigned the square in the late 16th century. Lost again; fragments rediscovered and re-erected in 1820. Smallest obelisk in Rome.[contradictory] |  |
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At least five obelisks were manufactured inEgypt in the Roman period at the request of the wealthy Romans, or made in Rome as copies of ancient Egyptian originals.
| Name | Location | Height (with base) | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agonalis (Pamphilius) | Piazza Navona 41°53′56.3″N12°28′23.1″E / 41.898972°N 12.473083°E /41.898972; 12.473083 (Agonalis) | 16.53 m (30+ m) | A copy commissioned byDomitian and erected at the Temple ofSerapis. Moved to theCircus of Maxentius byMaxentius. The Earl of Arundel paid a deposit and attempted to ship the four pieces to London in the late 1630s but Urban VIII disallowed its export.[7] Erected on top of theFontana dei Quattro Fiumi byBernini in 1651. |  |
| Quirinale | Piazza del Quirinale 41°53′56.7″N12°29′11.9″E / 41.899083°N 12.486639°E /41.899083; 12.486639 (Quirinale) | 14.63 m (28.94 m) | Originally erected on the eastern flank of theMausoleum of Augustus, paired with theEsquiline obelisk. Found in 1527. Erected byPope Pius VI in 1786 on theQuirinal Hill next to statues of theDioscuri (called the 'Horse Tamers') from theBaths of Constantine. |  |
| Esquiline | Piazza dell'Esquilino 41°53′53.4″N12°29′51″E / 41.898167°N 12.49750°E /41.898167; 12.49750 (Esquiline) | 14.75 m (25.53 m) | Originally erected on the western flank of theMausoleum of Augustus, paired with theQuirinale obelisk. Found in 1527 and erected in 1587 byPope Sixtus V behindSanta Maria Maggiore. |  |
| Sallustiano | Trinità dei Monti 41°54′22.1″N12°28′59.6″E / 41.906139°N 12.483222°E /41.906139; 12.483222 (Sallustiano) | 13.91 m (30.45 m) | Above theSpanish Steps. AnAurelian copy, although smaller, of theFlaminio obelisk of Ramses II in thePiazza del Popolo, for theGardens of Sallust. Found by theLudovisi and moved to thePiazza di San Giovanni in Laterano in 1734, but kept horizontal. Erected in 1789 byPope Pius VI. |  |
| Pinciano | Pincian Hill 41°54′38.9″N12°28′47.1″E / 41.910806°N 12.479750°E /41.910806; 12.479750 (Pinciano) | 9.24 m (17.26 m) | Commissioned byHadrian and erected in Tivoli for the tomb ofAntinous. Moved to Rome byElagabalus to decorate thespina of theCircus Varianus. Found in the 16th century near thePorta Maggiore. Moved to thePalazzo Barberini, then moved to theVatican byPope Clement XIV; finally erected on the Pincian byPope Pius VII in 1822. |  |
There was also an Ethiopian obelisk in Rome, theObelisk of Axum, 24 m, placed in the Piazza diPorta Capena. It had been taken fromAxum by theItalian Army during theItalian occupation of Ethiopia in 1937. It was struck bylightning in May 2002. After being restored, it was returned toEthiopia in April 2005.
There are five well-known modern obelisks in Rome:
Monoliths
Roman triumphal monuments
On the other side of it is a high tower made of one piece of stone, like a three-cornered diamond raised upon three brazen feet; and many, taking it for a holy thing, creep between the ground and the base of that tower. This was a work undertaken in honour ofJulius Caesar and assigned for his burial, and on the top of it are three large gilt apples in which is the dust of the Emperor [sic] Julius Caesar, and certainly it is a noble edifice and marvellously ordered and very strange. It is called Caesar's needle, and in the middle and at the base, and even at the top, are a few ancient letters carved in the stone which now cannot well be read, but in fact they record that the body of Julius Caesar was buried there.
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