Lateran obelisk
The Lateran Obelisk is an Egyptian obelisk in Rome . It is 32.18 meters high and stands today in Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano in front of the Lateran Basilica . It is the largest of all the obelisks in Rome.
description
Originally for Thutmose III. (Pharaoh 1479–1425 BC) and erected east of the Temple of Amun in Thebes , it was brought to Alexandria in 337 by Constantine I of Karnak . The original destination of the obelisk was not Rome, but Constantinople , which Constantine had made the new capital of the Roman Empire in 330. However, the emperor died in 337, and the stone initially remained in Alexandria. On the base it can be read that Constantine's son, Emperor Constantius II , had the obelisk transferred to Rome and set up in the Circus Maximus in 357 as a gift to the Senate and the Roman people. Ammianus Marcellinus reports on the transfer of this largest Roman obelisk that a ship of imposing size was built, manned by three hundred rowers. The monument was brought into the city through the Porta Ostiensis .
After an earthquake, the obelisk fell over, broke into several pieces, was left behind and forgotten. It was only excavated in 1587 on behalf of Pope Sixtus V and brought to its present location and restored in 1588 by Domenico Fontana , who left his signature. The cross was attached to the top as a symbol of Christian power. For the third-party installation, four palmi each around 25 cm had to be cut off from the base in order to obtain a secure base. The obelisk was originally 33.10 meters high and weighed around 500 tons.
Fontana's signature on the Lateran obelisk
Top of the obelisk at the Lateran
See also
literature
- Klaus Bartels: Rome's speaking stones. 2nd edition, von Zabern, Mainz 2001, ISBN 3-8053-2690-4 .
- Ernst Batta: Obelisks. Egyptian obelisks and their history in Rome. Insel, Frankfurt a. M. 1986, ISBN 3-458-32465-8 (Insel-Taschenbuch, 765).
- Richard Hillinger, Christian E. Loeben: Obelisks. Heliopolis, Luxor, Cairo, Byblos, Rome, Benevento, Istanbul, Urbino, Florence, Kingston Lacy, Munich, Paris, Durham, London, New York, Berlin. Exhibition in the Italian hall of the Landshut city residence from May 23 to June 2, 1992. Stadt Landshut, Landshut 1992, ISBN 3-927612-06-5 .
- Reinhard Raffalt : Concerto Romano. Prestel, Munich 1955; 14th edition 1999, ISBN 3-7913-2236-2 .
- Eckart Peterich : Rome. 2nd edition, Prestel, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7913-2043-2 .
- Samuel Ball Platner, Thomas Ashby: A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, London 1929, pp. 366-371 ( online ).
- Cesare D'Onofrio: Gli obelischi di Roma. Bulzoni Editore, Rome 1967.
Web links
- The Roman Obelisks ( Memento from September 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- Obelisco Lateranense (Italian)
Coordinates: 41 ° 53 ′ 12.7 " N , 12 ° 30 ′ 17.2" E