Egypt in Italy: obelisks in Rome
Did you know that Rome has quite a number of Egyptian obelisks? There are 13 of them still to be admired, and yet another one is rumoured to have existed, now lost somewhere under the modern city close to the church of San Luigi dei Francesi.
The one to start the “trend� was the emperor Augustus who imported two obelisks directly from Egypt. After him, the emperor Caligula erected another one near the Circo Vaticano, and then placed other five of them in surroundings of the temple he had built in honor of the Egyptian divinities Isis and Seraphis. Later, many other emperors followed their example up to the 4th century AD.
The highest of these monuments is the obelisk raised by Constantius in AD 357: it’s 32,18 meters tall, and ancient Egyptian work, produced as early as the 15th century BC. It was originally placed in the Circo Massimo race-stadium, but has later been moved next to the basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.
Even though the Roman obelisks were imported from Egypt, in Rome they were of course not considered as symbols of the Egyptian god of the sun, Atum-Ra, but simply as monuments in honor of the Roman empire.
Where can these ancient works of art be admired today? There is one in the center of the Navona Square, attached to the famous fountain of Bernini. This one is actually just an imitation of the Egyptian obelisks, made in Rome in the 1st century AD. Another, more ancient one, is positioned close by, in front of the Pantheon, this one produced in Egypt in the 8th century BC. Both of these two have at some point adorned the temple of Isis, and then subsequently moved.
Just a stone’s throw from the Pantheon, in the Piazza della Minerva, you can see a small Egyptian obelisk just 5,47 meters tall, refound in the 17th century and then erected by the Pope Alexander VII in this position. The obelisk stands on the bnack of a granite elephant sculpted by Bernini!
In the nearby Piazza Montecitorio, in front of the Parliament, is located a big, 6th century Egyptian obelisk imported by Augustus in 10 BC and at the time used to form a part of an enormous clock. Not far from there is the obelisk located in the upper end of the Spanish steps, in front of the church of Trinità dei Monti.
All of these are within a short walk from each other in the historical center. Yet another one is to be found on Piazza del Popolo, by the metro line A stop Flaminio, and of course the highest one of all the survived obelisks is located at San Giovanni, this as well to be reached with the metro A (stop San Giovanni).
To be centrally and conveniently located for your sightseeing, try booking the Nice Hotel or the three star My Hotel, both in the Termini station area, easily connected with all the main monuments of the city.
