Saturday, December 19, 2009

il leone e l'obelisco

Obelisco Flaminio (13th century B.C.)





Towering at the center of Piazza del Popolo is the Flaminio obelisk native of Heliopolis–one of the most ancient cities of Egypt–where it originally stood across from the Temple of the Sun. Its hieroglyphics spell the name of Pharaoh Ramses II and his son Mineptah, who dedicated the 34-meter monolith to the Sun God RhĂ .

The Flaminio obelisk was the first megalith to be imported by the Roman Empire as a decoration for the Circus Maximus in 10 A.D. by Augustus. As the stadium fell in disuse, the obelisks adorning it collapsed and in time were buried under layers of soil as the street level rose. In 1587 the ruins of the circus and the broken obelisk were found, and in 1589 Pope Sixtus V had the monument fully restored and erected in its current location. The four Egyptian-style lions and underlying fountain basins surrounding it were added in 1818.








7 comments:

  1. I just added my name. I'll follow you everywhere, Eleonora.

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  2. Hello and welcome Eleonora!
    La piazza del Popolo is one of my favourites, mainly because of Santa Maria del Popolo. The last time I was there, the police held an European event so I didn't get quite as near to the obelisk as I would have liked to.

    Very nice photos until now!

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  3. It is great to see new photoblog about my the most loved city of the world, good luck!

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  4. I love your comments, thank you!

    Rosaria~ That's great! Come along then
    Cieldequimper~ I was there too! Polica cars on display and a stage with a band playing... crazy sunny day. What was it 2 summers ago? Thanks for dropping in here today!
    Irina~ Grazie! Come back soon

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  5. I love the clarity in this photo!

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  6. I'm happy you stopped by!
    Bergson~ Thank you, happy holidays
    Saretta~ Grazie!! I love that lion.

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Thank you for visiting Roma Every Day. Your feedback is always hugely appreciated, though it is no longer possible for me to reply individually to your comments in the post thread.

For any questions, please feel free to send me an email.

Grazie!
~Eleonora

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