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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

St Peter's Needle

3/1/2019

 
Map
Vatican Obelisk, St Peter's Square, Rome
Vatican Obelisk

The 25-metre-high granite obelisk that adorns the centre of Piazza San Pietro (St Peter's Square) is the only one of the city's thirteen ancient Egyptian obelisks to have remained standing since the days of antiquity.

The Vatican obelisk has no hieroglyphs, which makes it difficult to determine its exact age. It was brought to Rome by the emperor Caligula (r. 37-41 CE) and set up on the spina of the circus he was building on Mons Vaticanus. Caligula's circus was completed by Nero (r. 54-68) and bore his name Circus Neronianus. 

It is believed that, in 64 CE, Peter the Apostle was crucified near the obelisk and his remains buried just outside the Circus. A shrine was built on this site some years later and in 319 work began on the construction of a huge basilica dedicated to St Peter. 

For centuries St Peter's Needle, as the obelisk came to be called by pilgrims, stood on the south side of St. Peter's Basilica. It remained standing, when all of the other obelisks either fell or were toppled, because it was revered as a witness to St Peter's crucifixion.

In 1506 work began on the rebuilding of the basilica (which would take more than a century) and eighty years later Pope Sixtus V (r. 1585-90) decided to move the obelisk the short distance to the centre of the piazza. He entrusted the task to the architect and engineer, Domenico Fontana (1543-1607). The obelisk, which is 25 metres high and weighs roughly 330 tons, was erected (with the aid of 900 men, 140 horses and 44 winches) in its new position on September 10th, 1586. At its base sit four bronze lions (each of which has two bodies), whose tails are intertwined. 


Since 1817 the obelisk has acted as the gnomon of a large sundial. 

St Peter's Square, Rome
St Peter's Square
Four bronze lions sit at the base of the obelisk in St Peter's Square, Rome
Four bronze lions sit at the base of the obelisk

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    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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    of Rome.

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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • 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
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • 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