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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

The Largest Obelisk in the World

11/1/2019

 
Map
Lateran Obelisk, Piazza di San Giovanni, Rome
The Lateran Obelisk

Rome is home to the largest obelisk in the world and it stands in Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano.

​The Lateran Obelisk, which soars to a height of 32 metres (105 feet), was originally erected by the pharaoh Tuthmosis III (r. 1479-1425 BCE) outside the temple of Amun in Karnak, where it stood for almost two thousand years.

Towards the end of the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337) the obelisk was moved to the port of Alexandria prior to being transported to the city of Constantinople. However, the project was halted by the emperor’s death in 337.

​At some point before 357 Emperor Constantine II (r. 337-361) completed the task, using a purpose-built boat manned by 300 oarsmen. The obelisk’s destination, however, was now Rome, where it was erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus.

It is thought that the obelisk was toppled by the Ostrogoths in 547. A thousand or so years later, in 1587, it was found at a depth of 8 metres, broken into three pieces. It was duly repaired and in the following year, by order of Pope Sixtus V (r. 1585-90), it was set up in its present position by the architect and engineer, Domenico Fontana (1543-1607). 

Heraldic symbols of Pope Sixtus V (1585-90), Lateran Obelisk, Rome
Heraldic symbols of Pope Sixtus V

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    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
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      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
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      • Pope Clement X
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      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City