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[Regions of Italy]
For all you parents traveling with young kids, here's the Roman equivalent to counting cows. Thirteen obelisks (well, now there are only twelve) still stand in Rome:
Viale dell'Obelisco (on the Pincio). This unadorned column originally stood over the grave of the beautiful youth Antinous, who drowned in the Nile while saving Emperor Hadrian's life. When it was brought to Italy it was remade, and eventually was erected here in 1822.
Piazza Trinità dei Monti. The obelisk that looms above the Spanish Steps is a 2nd-century Roman copy of the Flaminian Obelisk, and it was erected here in 1789. In those days, the straight line from here to the Pincio obelisk was considered the most fashionable walk in town.
"Water on the Ropes!"
St. Peter's Square. This is the oldest monument in the square, and the first obelisk to be re-erected in "modern" times. The story of its raising is Roman legend: how in 1586 Pope Sixtus V ordered the huge crowd of spectators to remain silent under pain of death, how the ropes were about to break under the strain of the column's weight, how a Genoese sailor risked his life, screamed, "Water on the ropes!" and thus saved the obelisk from crashing into a million pieces, how the grateful Pope ordered that henceforth all the Vatican's Palm Sunday fronds be purchased in Bordighera (they still are).
Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano. This is probably Rome's most illustrious obelisk, partly because it is the city's oldest and partly because, at 140 feet, it is the world's tallest. Originally built in the 15th century BC for Pharaohs Tuthmosis III and Tuthmosis IV, it was brought to Rome in 357 by Emperor Constantius and placed in the Circus Maximus. An earthquake destroyed it; then, in 1587, it was unearthed and placed here.
Piazza Montecitorio. Built in the 6th century BC for King Psamtik I, it was found in Heliopolis by Augustus. When he brought it to Rome it caused such a stir that even the ship used to transport it was kept on public display. Over the centuries it fell into total disrepair, and was only discovered again in the late 1700s. It is surmounted by a gnomon and ball, which makes it a bona fide sun-dial when combined with the lines in the pavement of the square.
G.B. Piranesi's drawing
of Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo. Built 3200 years ago for Pharaoh Rameses II, the so-called Flaminian Obelisk was brought to Rome from Heliopolis by Augustus and erected in the Circus Maximus. It made its way here in the 16th century.
Piazza Esquilino. Pope Sixtus V moved this Roman copy of an Egyptian obelisk here from the mausoleum of Augustus.
Piazza del Quirinale. This obelisk also came from Augustus' tomb, but it was not erected until 1786, under Pope Pius VI.
Piazza della Rotonda. Unearthed in 1575, this delicate exemplar came from the Temple of Isis, built nearby at the behest of Emperor Domitian.
Piazza Navona. The obelisk crowning Bernini's Fountain of Four Rivers also came from the same temple. The hieroglyphics on this one record the emperor's devotion to the goddess: look for her portrait with horns.
Piazza di Minerva. The kids will love this miniature column, borne on the back of Bernini's elephant. Another find from the Temple of Isis.
Piazza di Porta Capena. Ironically placed in front of what eventually became the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, this 4th-century monument was "removed" by Mussolini from the Ethiopian holy city of Axum, and erected here in 1937 as a tangible symbol of Fascist Italy's delusions of imperial grandeur. Originally built by Pharaoh Tuthmosis III for the spot seen in the watercolor on the left, the obelisk has a twin that currently lives in Istanbul. Fervent obelisk lovers who believe that a throbbing heart exists inside these stone monoliths have a special fondness for Axum, whose story lives on into the 21st century. It seems the tip of the 200-ton wonder was struck by lightning in May of 2002, thereby necessitating its removal for extensive restorations. This set off an international incident which resulted in Italy agreeing to return the hostage to the country's erstwhile "protectorate," Ethiopia. At a cost of around 1.5 million Euros to the Italian government, the obelisk was again broken into three segments, carefully wrapped in a gel, mortar and carbon-fiber shell, and placed in storage for three years while the runway at Axum airport was especially upgraded to facilitate the illustrious return. The obelisk was finally airlifted home in 2006. But due to the finding of older burial chambers on the intended site, the monument then languished in Axum awaiting re-erection until 2008, when re-assembly began. We bet it took the emperors much less time to move their obelisks around the Mediterranean!
Lungotevere Marasciallo Diaz. Rome's only truly modern obelisk was erected by Mussolini, and it bears the words, "Mussolini Dux." At the end of the Fascist regime, all public references to the Duce were outlawed and removed, but the letters on this 55-foot column were too large to be effaced, so they remain as a bizarre testament to the dictator's oh-so-Roman megalomania.
[Regions of Italy]
