Egypt in Rome at the Castel Sant'Angelo

Until October 28 the Castel Sant'Angelo will host an exhibition linking two of the greatest civilizations of all time-Egypt and Rome. The exhibit focuses on the influence that Egypt and her artifacts had on the art, architecture and culture of the city of Rome. "L'Egitto a Roma dalla storia al mito" (Egypt to Rome through the story of myth) will shed light on the Egyptian obelisks and deities visible throughout Rome.

Obelisks of Rome-Piazza della Rotonda

You may notice that Egyptian obelisks feature prominently in almost every piazza. There are thirteen obelisks in Rome which came from Egypt or were made in Rome. The first obelisks came to Italy from Egypt with Augustus (then called Octavian) after his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in 30 BCE. The obelisk in the Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon was commissioned by the pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BCE and erected in front of the temple of Ra in Heliopolis, Egypt. The obelisk was brought to Rome in the 1st century BCE and set up in the Temple of Isis. In 1711 Pope Clemens XI moved the obelisk to a fountain in the Piazza della Rotonda and placed the Chigi family crest, an 8 sided star above 6 mountains, atop it.