Flaminian Obelisk (-1300). The Flaminio Obelisk, an ancient Egyptian monument now located in Rome's Piazza del Popolo, is portrayed in art as a symbol of imperial power and the grandeur of Rome's historical legacy. Originally erected in Heliopolis and later brought to Rome by Emperor Augustus in 10 BCE to celebrate his conquest of Egypt, it is depicted in various Renaissance and Baroque artworks, often as part of grand cityscapes that emphasize its towering presence and association with Rome’s imperial might. In many depictions, the obelisk serves as a focal point of urban renewal projects, surrounded by architectural splendor, reflecting the fusion of Egyptian and Roman cultural heritage. Its hieroglyphic inscriptions and impressive scale are often highlighted to convey its ancient origins and the lasting influence of Egyptian civilization on Roman art and architecture. The Nineteenth Dynasty Pharaoh Sety I quarried this obelisk from granite quarries in Aswan. Before his death, artists inscribed one face of the obelisk, which Sety intended to erect in the Temple of Re in Heliopolis. Sety's son and successor Ramesses II completed its inscriptions and set it up in Heliopolis; it was brought to Rome in 10 BC by command of Augustus, together with the Obelisk of Montecitorio, and placed on the spina of the Circus Maximus, followed three centuries later by the Lateran Obelisk. Like most Egyptian obelisks, the Flaminio Obelisk was probably one of a pair, but no trace of its mate has ever been found. In Sety I's dedicatory inscription on one side of the shaft, the king boasts that he would fill Heliopolis with obelisks. The obelisk was discovered in 1587, broken into three pieces, together with the Lateran Obelisk; and it was erected in the Piazza del Popolo by Domenico Fontana in 1589, at the command Pope Sixtus V. In 1823 Giuseppe Valadier embellished it with a base having four circular basins and stone lions, imitating the Egyptian style.