Visited
every year by thousands of tourists looking
to see inside the Pantheon, The Piazza
De La Rotunda serves as a center point
and starting-mark for most of the walking
tours of Rome. Near the center of the
Piazza is an obelisk that rises to a height
of 6.34 meters. Made of an unknown red
granite, it was erected as a pair with
the one at the Villa Celimontana by Ramesses
II in the Temple of the Sun at Helioplis
in 13 B.C. It was brought to the Iseum,
the Temple of Isis, but it is not known
who was responsible for this relocation
to Rome. In the early 18the century, Pope
Clement XI erected the obelisk in the
Piazza della Rotunda in front of the Pantheon.
The base for the obelisk is decorated
with water-spouting dolphins and laughing
faces with upturned eyes.
Piazza
Della Rotonda Travel Links |
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