klapouch

Flaminio

Piazza del Popolo - Roma - Italia

In the centre of the piazza stands one of the eight ancient Egyptian obelisks of Rome.
Originally erecte...
Read more

Piazza del Popolo - Roma - Italia

In the centre of the piazza stands one of the eight ancient Egyptian obelisks of Rome.
Originally erected by Sety I (later erected by Rameses II) from Heliopolis. Three sides of the obelisk were carved during the reign of Sety I and the fourth side, under Rameses II. The obelisk, known as the obelisco Flaminio or the Popolo Obelisk, is the second oldest and one of the tallest obelisks in Rome (some 24m high, or 36m including its plinth). The obelisk was brought to Rome in 10 BC by order of Augustus and originally set up in the Circus Maximus. It was re-erected here in the piazza by the architect-engineer Domenico Fontana in 1589 as part of the urban plan of Sixtus V. The piazza also formerly contained a central fountain, which was moved to the Piazza Nicosia in 1818, when fountains, in the form of Egyptian-style lions, were added around the base of the obelisk.
Read less