The 'Macuteo' Obelisk

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The 'Macuteo' Obelisk

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The Obelisco Macuteo (6.34 m), which stands in Piazza della Rotonda, once formed a pair with the Obelisco Matteiano in Villa Celimontana. The two obelisks were first erected by the pharaoh Ramesses II (r. 1279-1213 BCE) in Heliopolis and were later brought to Rome, where they stood in the sacred enclosure of the Iseum, the Temple of Isis.

​On the pyramidion are two cartouches of Ramesses II, and on each face of the shaft is the name of the pharaoh followed by a phrase expressing his relationship to the sun god. 

The 'Macuteo' obelisk was unearthed in 1373 near the church of San Macuto. Over three centuries later, in 1711, Pope Clement XI (r. 1700-21) had the obelisk erected in nearby Piazza della Rotonda as part of a fountain. 

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