Lateran Obelisk

Local nameObelisco Lateranense
LocationMonti, Rome, Italy

The Lateran Obelisk is the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, and it is also the tallest obelisk in Italy. It originally weighed 413 tonnes, but after collapsing and being re-erected 4 metres shorter, now weighs around 300 tonnes. It is located in Rome, in the square across from the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and the San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital.

The obelisk was made around 1400 BC in Karnak, Egypt, during the reigns of Pharaohs Thutmose III and Thutmose IV. Roman Emperor Constantius II had it moved to Alexandria in the early 4th century AD, then in AD 357 had it shipped to Rome and erected at the Circus Maximus. The obelisk collapsed sometime after the Circus's abandonment in the 5th century and was buried under mud. It was dug up and restored in the late 1580s, and by the order of Pope Sixtus V was topped with a Christian cross and installed in its present location near the Lateran Palace.

Tags MonumentObelisk
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More information and contact

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateran_Obelisk

Address 58 Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, Roma 00184, Italy

Coordinates 41°53'12.638" N 12°30'17.274" E

Tours and activities: Lateran Obelisk

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Capitoline Museum Skip-the-Line Small Group Tour

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