Axum Obelisk

Axum Obelisk (2009)

The Axum Obelisk is a 24 meter high granite stele in Axum in northern Ethiopia , which stood in Rome from 1937 to 2005 .

The stele was brought to Rome as spoils of war on behalf of Benito Mussolini in 1937 after the Abyssinian War and placed in front of the Colonial Ministry (today the seat of the World Food Organization ) on the Piazza di Porta Capena . It was originally built between 100 and 300 AD in the holy city of Axum in Ethiopia . The return to Ethiopia promised by Italy after the Second World War was delayed for decades. In May 2002, lightning struck the obelisk and severely damaged it.

On April 25, 2005, the last of three sections was brought back to Ethiopia on a Russian Antonov cargo plane. After the restoration, the stele was put back in its original location in Axum in 2008.

See also

• List of obelisks in Rome

Web links

Commons : Obelisk von Axum  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Christiane Kohl: The Axum Obelisk. A particularly long piece of history . Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 9, 2008
• Obelisco di Axum. romaspqr.it (Italian)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Peace treaty with Italy, part of the Paris Treaties (1947) [1]
2. ↑ Mission accomplished: Aksum Obelisk successfully reinstalled .

Coordinates: 14 ° 7 '55.2 "  N , 38 ° 43' 9.5"  E