The Vatican obelisk at St. Peter's Square
At the center of the oval stands an Egyptian obelisk of red granite, forty meters tall to the cross on its top. The obelisk, of the 13th century BC, was moved to Rome in AD 37 by the Emperor Caligula to stand in the central spina of the Circus Gai et Neronis, which lay to the left of the present basilica. It was moved to its current site in 1586 by the engineer-architect Domenico Fontana under the direction of Pope Sixtus V. The Vatican Obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that did not topple since Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the gilt ball on top of the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Though Bernini had no influence in the erection of the obelisk, he did use it as the centerpiece of his magnificent piazza.
