Gebruiker:Joris/obelisk

In Rome zijn nog 8 antieke Egyptische en 5 Romeinse obelisken bewaard gebleven, die al in de oudheid op diverse in Rome stonden opgesteld.

Geschiedenis

Vanaf de verovering van Egypte door keizer Augustus ontstond in Rome belangstelling voor de Egyptische cultuur. Dit leidde tot de bouw van tempels voor de Egyptische goden Isis en Serapis, minstens 2 piramides en het plaatsen van diverse obelisken. In eerste instantie werden de obelisken uit Egypte gehaald, maar na verloop van tijd werden ze ook in Rome zelf gemaakt. Na de oudheid vervielen de oude monumenten in Rome en slechts een obelisk bleef op zijn plaats staan. De andere obelisken werden omgehaald of vielen om na een aardbeving en raakten bedolven onder puin en aarde en werden vergeten.

In de renaissance kreeg men weer interesse in de antieke monumenten. Paus Sixtus V liet enkele van de opgegraven obelisken restaureren en op de grote pleinen plaatsen die hij aan had laten leggen. Andere obelisken werden in parken opgericht. In de moderne tijd werden enkele nieuwe obelisken in Rome gebouwd en Mussolini haalde in navolging van zijn grote voorbeeld Augustus een antieke obelisk uit Axum in Ethiopië. Deze is echter in 2005 weer teruggeven.

Naar het voorbeeld van Rome zijn ook in steden als Parijs, Londen en New York obelisken opgericht.

Lijst van obelisken in Rome

Antieke Egyptische obelisk

Foto	Naam	Hoogte (inclusief voet)	Locatie	Bijzonderheden
	Lateranense	32.18 m (45.70 m)	Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano	De oudste en langste obelisk in Rome. Daarbij ook de langste overeind staande Egyptische obelisk ter wereld. De obelisk is afkomstig uit de tempel van Amon bij Karnak en werd gebouwd in opdracht van farao Thoetmosis III (15e eeuw v.Chr.). Hij werd door keizer Constantius II naar Alexandria gebracht en vandaar verder naar Rome. In 357 n.Chr. werd hij als 2e obelisk op de spina van het Circus Maximus geplaatst. In 1587 werd hij in drie delen opgegraven en na restauratie 4 meter korter dan oorspronkelijk, op het plein naast de Sint-Jan van Lateranen geplaatst. De obelisk kwam op de plaats van het Ruiterstandbeeld van Marcus Aurelius, die naar de Capitolijn werd verplaatst.
	Vaticano	25,5 m (41 m)	Sint-Pietersplein

Mediabestanden

Mediabestanden die bij dit onderwerp horen, zijn te vinden op de pagina Obelisks of Rome op Wikimedia Commons.

Externe links

• Virtual Roma - Roman Monographies, Obelisks

Ancient Egyptian obelisks

At least eight obelisks created in antiquity by the Ancient Egyptians were taken from Egypt after the Roman conquest and brought to Rome.

Image	Name	Pharaoh	Height (with base)	Location	Notes
	Lateranense	Toetmosis III / Tuthmosis IV	32.18 m (45.70 m)
	Vaticano	originally raised in the Forum Iulium in Alexandria by the Prefect Cornelius Gallus on Octavian's orders around 30- 28 BC No hieroglyphs.	25.5 m, supported on bronze lions and surmounted by the Chigi arms in bronze, in all 41 m to the cross on its top.	Saint Peter's Square	The old Basilica of Saint Peter with the obelisk at the left in its original place. Re-erection of the obelisk in 1586 Brought to Rome by Caligula in 37 for the spina of the Vatican Circus. Relocated by Pope Sixtus V in 1586 using a method devised by Domenico Fontana; the first monumental obelisk raised in the modern period, it is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the gilt ball on top of the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Fontana later removed the ancient metal ball, now in a Rome museum, that stood atop the obelisk and found only dust. Pero Tafur in his Andanças (circa 1440) mentions that many passed between the ground and the "tower" basis "thinking it a saintly thing".
	Flaminio	Seti I / Ramesses II	24 m (36.50 m)	Piazza del Popolo	Originally from Heliopolis. Brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BC with the Solare obelisk and erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus. Found with the Lateranense obelisk in 1587 in two pieces and erected by Pope Sixtus V in 1589. Sculptures with lion fountains were added to the base in 1818.
	Solare	Psammetichus II	21.79 m (33.97 m)	Piazza di Montecitorio	Originally from Heliopolis. Brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BC with the Flaminio obelisk to form the gnomon of a sundial on the Campus Martius. Found in 16th century but reburied. Rediscovered and erected by Pope Pius VI in front of the Palazzo Montecitorio in 1792.
	Macuteo	Ramesses II	6.34 m (14.52 m)	Piazza della Rotonda	Originally one of a pair at the Temple of Ra in Heliopolis, the other being the now much shorter Matteiano. Moved to the Temple of Isis near Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Found in 1373 near San Macuto and erected east of Santa Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline. Moved to the front of the Pantheon by Pope Clement XI in 1711 over a fountain by Filippo Barigioni.
	Minerveo	Apries	5.47 m (12.69 m)	Santa Maria sopra Minerva	Originally one of a pair from Sais. Brought to Rome by Diocletian for the nearby Temple of Isis. Found in 1655 and erected in 1667 by Pope Alexander VII on an Elephant base by Bernini, behind the Pantheon in Piazza della Minerva. The other of the pair is in Urbino.
	Dogali	Ramesses II	? (6.34 m)	Baths of Diocletian	Originally one of a pair from Heliopolis, the other now in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. Moved to the Temple of Isis in Rome. Found in 1883 by Rodolfo Lanciani near Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Now commemorates the Battle of Dogali, originally in front of Near Termini Station and moved to its present site in 1924.
	Matteiano	Ramesses II	2.68 m (12.23 m)	Villa Celimontana	Originally one of a pair at the Temple of Ra in Heliopolis, the other being the Macuteo which retains much more of its original height. Moved to the Temple of Isis near Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Found in the 14th century and erected east of Santa Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline. Moved to Villa Celimontana after Michelangelo redesigned the square in the late 16th century. Lost again; fragments rediscovered and re-erected in 1820. Smallest obelisk in Rome.

Ancient Roman copies

At least five obelisks were manufactured in Egypt in the Roman period at the request of the wealthy Romans, or made in Rome as copies of ancient Egyptian originals.

Image	Name	Height (including base)	Location	Notes
	Agonalis	16.53 m (over 30 m)	Piazza Navona	A copy commissioned by Domitian and erected at the Temple of Serapis. Moved to the Circus of Maxentius by Maxentius. Erected on top of the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi by Bernini in 1651.
	Quirinale	14.63 m (28.94 m)	Piazza del Quirinale	Originally erected on the eastern flank of the Mausoleum of Augustus, paired with the Esquiline obelisk. Found in 1527. Erected by Pope Pius VI in 1786 on the Quirinal Hill next to statues of the Dioscuri (called the 'Horse Tamers') from the Baths of Constantine.
	Esquiline	14.75 m (25.53 m)	Piazza dell'Esquilino	Originally erected on the western flank of the Mausoleum of Augustus, paired with the Quirinale obelisk. Found in 1527 and erected in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V behind Santa Maria Maggiore.
	Sallustiano	13.91 m (30.45 m)	Trinità dei Monti	Above the Spanish Steps. An Aurelian copy, although smaller, of the Flaminio obelisk of Ramses II in the Piazza del Popolo, for the Gardens of Sallust. Found by the Ludovisi and moved to the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano in 1734, but kept horizontal. Erected in 1789 by Pope Pius VI.
	Pinciano	9.24 m (17.26 )	Pincian Hill	Commissioned by Hadrian and erected in Tivoli for the tomb of Antinous. Moved to Rome by Elagabalus to decorate the spina of the Circus Varianus. Found in the 16th century near the Porta Maggiore. Moved to the Palazzo Barberini, then moved to the Vatican by Pope Clement XIV; finally erected on the Pincian by Pope Pius VII in 1822.

Obelisk of Axum

The Obelisk of Axum in Rome in 2002.

The Marconi obelisk, in the centre of the EUR district.

Mediabestanden

Mediabestanden die bij dit onderwerp horen, zijn te vinden op de pagina Obelisks of Rome op Wikimedia Commons.

There was also an Ethiopian obelisk in Rome, the Obelisk of Axum, 24 m, placed in the Piazza di Porta Capena. It had been taken from Axum by the Italian Army during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1937. It was struck by lightning in May 2002. After being restored, it was disassembled and returned to Ethiopia in April 2005.

Modern obelisks

There are four well-known modern obelisks in Rome:

1. Villa Medici, 19th century copy of the original, found in the gardens and taken to Florence.
2. Two obelisks in the Villa Torlonia, 1842, Baveno granite
3. Foro Italico, 1932, 17.5 m, Carrara marble, originally dedicated to Benito Mussolini, and inscribed Mussolini Dux
4. Marconi, 1959, 45 m, in the centre of the EUR district, dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi, built for the 1960 Summer Olympics. 92 panels in white marble contain illustrations of Marconi's career and allegorical scenes.

External links

• Obelisks in Rome (Andrea Pollett)
• Obelisks of Rome (series of articles in Platner's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome)
• Obelischi di Roma
• Obeliiks of Rome by www.romeartlover.it/
• Flow chart of the standing obelisks