Egyptian Obelisks - Rome
The monolith of red granite,
executed in the 1st century A.D. in imitation
of the Egyptian ones to celebrate the Emperor
Domitian,
was perhaps intended for the Temple
of Isis in the Campus Martius. In 309 the
Emperor Maxentius decided to re-use it in the
circus he
had built along the Appian Way. After
remaining for a long time broken into five
pieces inside the circus, it was found again in
1649 and
arranged by pope Innocent X Pamphili
in its present position, in the centre of the
fountain. Immediately afterwards the bronze
point was
placed on top, decorated on its tip
with a dove carrying an olive branch, which
belonged to the coat of arms of the Pamphili
family:
This way a strong symbolic connotation was
given to the complex, because the papal dove
dominates and transmits the truth
of the Gospel
to the four continents, depicted allegorically
by the four rivers at the base.
The Danube, the Ganges, the Rio della Plata and
the Nile are represented as river gods, easily
recognisable by their individual attributes.
The Nile, in particular, has its face covered
with a veil: not because, as suggested by the
malicious, it does not want to see the
façade
of the church of Sant'Agnese,
designed by Borromini,
but to show the mystery that still surrounded
the origins of the river's sources.
From piazza Navona we can go towards
piazza della Rotonda, which takes its
name from the cylindrical shape of the Pantheon
(see Itinerary 8).
In the centre of the square,
which in shape resembles the arcade that
probably surrounded the temple in Roman times,
there is a
fountain with a mixtilinear plan
designed by Giacomo della Porta in 1575.
In the centre of the basin
Pope Clement XI Albani, in 1711, ordered the
erection of the obelisk that can still be seen
there. The red granite monolith,
6.43 metres
tall, comes from Egypt, where it had been
erected by Ramses II in the 13th century B.C.
in the city of Heliopolis. Brought to Rome
in
an unknown time, it was reused in the temple
dedicated to Isis and Serapis in Campus
Martius. To eat, we can go to Via dei Pastini,
where there is an excellent
bread and pizza
baker. Also on the same street, at no. 122-123,
there is the restaurant Er faciolaro (06
6796280), specialised in Roman dishes.
Discovering Rome: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12
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