echiromani:LateranenseThe tallest obelisk in Rome, and indeed, the largest standing ancient Egyptian
echiromani:LateranenseThe tallest obelisk in Rome, and indeed, the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, the Lateran spire weighs over 230 tons. It was carved for the temple of Amun in Karnak by Tuthmose III or IV (c. 1430 BC). It was brought to Alexandria with another obelisk by Constantius II, and brought on its own from there to Rome in 357 to decorate the spina of the Circus Maximus. (Its travel partner eventually found its way to the Hippodrome of Constantinople.)It was found in three pieces in 1587, and restored about 13 feet shorter by Pope Sixtus V. It was erected near the Lateran Palace and the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano in 1588 in place of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which was moved to the Capitoline Hill. The carving at its base reads, ᴄᴏɴsᴛᴀɴᴛɪɴᴜs ᴘᴇʀ ᴄʀᴜᴄᴇᴍ ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀ ᴀ s. sɪʟᴠᴇsᴛʀᴏ ʜɪᴄ ʙᴀᴘᴛɪᴢᴀᴛᴜs ᴄʀᴜᴄɪs ɢʟᴏʀɪᴀᴍ ᴘʀᴏᴘᴀɢᴀᴠɪᴛ. (Constantine, victorious by the Cross, was baptized here by Saint Sylvester. He spread the glory of the Cross.) -- source link