Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Greece and North Africa. Brick was also an important material, used both as a veneer and
for construction.
OBELISKS
More readily associated with Egyptian temples than Roman piazzas, obelisks are a distinctive feature of Rome's
cityscape. Many were brought over from Egypt after it was conquered by Augustus in 31 AD and used to decor-
ate the
spina
(central spine) of the city's big circuses (chariot-racing arenas). Later the Romans began to make
their own for their elaborate mausoleums.
The highest, and one of the oldest - it dates to the 15th century BC - towers 32.1m over Piazza San Giovanni
in Laterano. The most curious sits atop Bernini's famous Elefantino statue outside the Chiesa di Santa Maria So-
pra Minerva.
