Vatican Obelisk

E86051

The Vatican Obelisk is an ancient Egyptian granite obelisk now standing at the center of St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, serving as a prominent historical and religious landmark.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Egyptian monument
granite monolith
obelisk
alsoKnownAs Obelisk of Caligula
St. Peter’s Square Obelisk
associatedWith Circus of Nero
Domenico Fontana NERFINISHED
Pope Sixtus V NERFINISHED
St. Peter’s Basilica
axisOf longitudinal axis of St. Peter’s Square
broughtToRomeBy Emperor Caligula NERFINISHED
builtIn New Kingdom of Egypt NERFINISHED
city Vatican City
constructionPeriod likely 13th century BCE
continent Europe
coordinateLocation 41.9022°N 12.4573°E
country Vatican City
culture Ancient Egypt
currentFunction Catholic religious symbol
central monument of St. Peter’s Square
historical landmark
dedicatedTo Emperor Augustus
hasBaseShape square pedestal
hasFeature bronze cross at the top
bronze lions at the base corners
inscriptions in Latin on the base
no original hieroglyphic inscriptions
hasUse gnomon for a meridian line in the square
height about 25.5 metres
heightWithBase about 40 metres
heritageStatus major monument of Vatican City
locatedIn Rome
St. Peter’s Square
Vatican City
location St. Peter’s Square
material granite
red granite
monumentType monolithic obelisk
origin Heliopolis, Egypt
originalLocation spina of the Circus of Nero
partOf architectural ensemble of St. Peter’s Square
region Lazio
religiousSignificance symbol of triumph of Christianity over paganism
relocatedBy Pope Sixtus V NERFINISHED
relocationDate 1586
relocationEngineer Domenico Fontana NERFINISHED
topDecoration cross containing a relic of the True Cross
touristAttraction yes
transportedToRomeIn 1st century CE
weight about 326 tonnes

Referenced by (6)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Vatican Obelisk ("Obelisk of Caligula")
Vatican Obelisk ("St. Peter’s Square Obelisk")
alsoKnownAs
Domenico Fontana ("“Della trasportatione dell’obelisco Vaticano”")
authorOf
Maderno Fountain
hasNearbyStructure
St. Peter's Square
hasPart
Domenico Fontana ("“Della trasportatione dell’obelisco Vaticano”")
notableWork

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