Rome is home to the largest surviving ancient Egyptian obelisk, the Lateran Obelisk.
The monument was carved in the 15th century BC during the reigns of Pharaohs Thutmose III and Thutmose IV. It originally stood at Karnak, near the great temple of Amun, and was made from a single block of red granite. The obelisk once measured about 32 metres in Egypt and weighed more than 400 tonnes.
In the 4th century AD, Emperor Constantius II transported it from Alexandria to Rome, where it was erected beside the Circus Maximus in AD 357. After the circus fell into disuse, the obelisk collapsed, broke into three pieces, and was gradually buried.
Workers excavated and restored it in 1587 under Pope Sixtus V. Domenico Fontana re-erected it in 1588 in Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, where it stands opposite the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Its present height is about 45.7 metres including its base, making it Rome's tallest obelisk. It is sometimes confused with the Vatican Obelisk, which is more famous but smaller.