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Galerie > Ancient World > The Roman Empire > lithic remains of the Roman empire
St. Peter's Square with Egyptian obelisk of red granite from the ancient Circus of Nero at center.
St. Peter's Square (Italian: Piazza San Pietro, Latin: Forum Sancti Petri) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbourhood or rione of Borgo. 
At the centre of the square is an Egyptian obelisk of red granite, erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church." A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613. 
The  Egyptian obelisk of red granite is 25.5 metres tall, supported on bronze lions and surmounted by the Chigi arms in bronze, in all 41 metres to the cross on its top. 
The obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis, Egypt, by an unknown pharaoh. 
The Emperor Augustus (27 BC. –14 AD.) had the obelisk moved to the Julian Forum of Alexandria, where it stood until 37 AD, when Caligula ordered the forum demolished and the obelisk transferred to Rome. He had it placed on the spina which ran along the centre of the Circus of Nero, where it would preside over Nero's countless brutal games and Christian executions. 
The Circus of Nero or Circus of Caligula was a circus in ancient Rome, located mostly in the present-day Vatican City. Not to be confused with the older and larger Circus Maximus. It was begun by Caligula on the property of his mother Agrippina on the Ager Vaticanus (today's rione of Borgo), and finished by Claudius. A basilica (Old St. Peter's) was erected by Constantine over the site, using some of the existing structure of the Circus of Nero. The basilica was sited so that its apse was centered on Peter's tomb (now beneath the high altar of the current St Peter's Basilica). The circus itself was already abandoned by the middle of the second century AD., when the area was partitioned and given in concession to private individuals for the construction of tombs belonging to the necropolis. However it seems most of the ruins of the Circus survived until 1450, when they were finally destroyed by the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica. 
The obelisk was moved to its current site in 1586 by the engineer-architect Domenico Fontana under the direction of Pope Sixtus V; the engineering feat of re-erecting its vast weight was memorialized in a suite of engravings. The Vatican Obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since ancient Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the gilt ball on top of the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Fontana later removed the ancient metal ball, now in a Rome museum, that stood atop the obelisk and found only dust. Though Bernini had no influence in the erection of the obelisk, he did use it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza, and added the Chigi arms to the top in honor of his patron, Alexander VII. 

more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter's_Square and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_of_Nero 
Schlüsselwörter: Saint Peter Square Rome Egyptian obelisk granite Circus Nero Gaius Heliopolis Egypt Augustus Caligula Julian Forum Alexandria

St. Peter's Square with Egyptian obelisk of red granite from the ancient Circus of Nero at center.

St. Peter's Square (Italian: Piazza San Pietro, Latin: Forum Sancti Petri) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbourhood or rione of Borgo.
At the centre of the square is an Egyptian obelisk of red granite, erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church." A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613.
The Egyptian obelisk of red granite is 25.5 metres tall, supported on bronze lions and surmounted by the Chigi arms in bronze, in all 41 metres to the cross on its top.
The obelisk was originally erected at Heliopolis, Egypt, by an unknown pharaoh.
The Emperor Augustus (27 BC. –14 AD.) had the obelisk moved to the Julian Forum of Alexandria, where it stood until 37 AD, when Caligula ordered the forum demolished and the obelisk transferred to Rome. He had it placed on the spina which ran along the centre of the Circus of Nero, where it would preside over Nero's countless brutal games and Christian executions.
The Circus of Nero or Circus of Caligula was a circus in ancient Rome, located mostly in the present-day Vatican City. Not to be confused with the older and larger Circus Maximus. It was begun by Caligula on the property of his mother Agrippina on the Ager Vaticanus (today's rione of Borgo), and finished by Claudius. A basilica (Old St. Peter's) was erected by Constantine over the site, using some of the existing structure of the Circus of Nero. The basilica was sited so that its apse was centered on Peter's tomb (now beneath the high altar of the current St Peter's Basilica). The circus itself was already abandoned by the middle of the second century AD., when the area was partitioned and given in concession to private individuals for the construction of tombs belonging to the necropolis. However it seems most of the ruins of the Circus survived until 1450, when they were finally destroyed by the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica.
The obelisk was moved to its current site in 1586 by the engineer-architect Domenico Fontana under the direction of Pope Sixtus V; the engineering feat of re-erecting its vast weight was memorialized in a suite of engravings. The Vatican Obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since ancient Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the gilt ball on top of the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Fontana later removed the ancient metal ball, now in a Rome museum, that stood atop the obelisk and found only dust. Though Bernini had no influence in the erection of the obelisk, he did use it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza, and added the Chigi arms to the top in honor of his patron, Alexander VII.

more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter's_Square and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_of_Nero

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Dateiname:170Obeliskst.jpg
Name des Albums:Arminius / lithic remains of the Roman empire
Schlüsselwörter:Saint / Peter / Square / Rome / Egyptian / obelisk / granite / Circus / Nero / Gaius / Heliopolis / Egypt / Augustus / Caligula / Julian / Forum / Alexandria
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