OBELISK AT PIAZZA SAN GIOVANNI

The so-called Lateran obelisk is the largest standing obelisk in the world. Its inscriptions state that while it was begun during the reign of Tuthmosis III, it lay in the craftsmen's workshops for 35 years and was finally erected by his grandson Tuthmosis IV. The only single obelisk ever put up in Karnak Temple (obelisks usually came in pairs), it was removed under the orders of the Roman emperor Constantine (A.D. 274-337), who hoped to raise it in his new capital at Constantinople. He died before the obelisk ever left Egypt, and his son and successor Constantius (A.D. 317-361) had it taken to Rome, where it was re-erected in the Circus Maximus.

At some unknown date and by some unknown cause, the obelisk fell. It was not until the 16th century that Pope Sixtus V ordered a search for the monolith. It was found, in three pieces, some 23 feet down in the former Circus Maximus. On August 3, 1588, after more than a year of effort, the Lateran obelisk was raised in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, where it has stood ever since, a Christian cross at its apex.

Stats:

Location: Piazza S. Giovanni, Laterano, Rome, Italy
Pharaoh: Tuthmosis III (reigned 1504-1450 B.C.)
Height: 105.6 feet
Weight: 455 tons