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Boboli Obelisk, Boboli Gardens, Florence
Site, Museums outside Egypt · also called Obelisco di Boboli, Obelisco Mediceo, Florence obelisk, Boboli Gardens obelisk, Pitti Palace obelisk
The Boboli obelisk carries the names of Ramesses II and honours Atum, the god of Heliopolis, where it probably first stood. It stands in the amphitheatre behind the Pitti Palace, brought from the Villa Medici in Rome.
Signs to look for
- Sledge U15tm The sledge (tm) spells Atum, the god of Heliopolis named on the shaft.
- Sun N5rꜥ The sun disc (ra) is in both of Ramesses II's cartouches.
- Three fox skins F31ms Three fox skins (mes) form the middle of Ramesses.
- Folded cloth S29s The folded cloth (s) is doubled at the end of Ramesses (rꜥ-ms-sw).
Names you can find here
The story of Boboli Obelisk, Boboli Gardens, Florence
The pink Aswan granite is inscribed for Ramesses II, under a winged scarab at the top of the shaft. The texts name Atum, so it is thought to come from Heliopolis. A Roman emperor brought it to Rome, most accounts say Domitian for the temple of Isis on the Campus Martius, though some sources put the move earlier.
Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici bought it in the sixteenth century and set it up in the gardens of the Villa Medici. In 1788 Grand Duke Peter Leopold had it shipped to Livorno and hauled overland to Florence. It was raised in 1790 at the centre of the Boboli amphitheatre, on the axis of the Pitti Palace. Niccolò Gaspero Paoletti designed the setting.
In 1840 a Roman granite basin from the Villa Medici was set in front of it, to a design by Pasquale Poccianti. The shaft is about six metres tall, far smaller than the obelisks of Paris or London.
What to see and read
Ramesses II's cartouches
His throne name and birth name, each in a ring, in the columns below the scarab.
Winged scarab
The scarab with spread wings at the top of the shaft, above the king's name.
Name of Atum
The god of Heliopolis to whom the texts are addressed, written with the sledge sign.
Turtles and gilded ball
Bronze turtles at the foot and a gilt ball on the tip, fittings that came with the obelisk from Rome.
Reading the hieroglyphs here
- Walk down to the floor of the amphitheatre: the shaft is low enough to photograph each face whole.
- Restoration work in the amphitheatre may fence the obelisk off for a time. Check before you go.
- Shade from the trees moves across the shaft during the day. Try again later if one face is in shadow.
Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.
Questions
Is the Boboli obelisk really Egyptian?
Yes. It is Aswan granite inscribed for Ramesses II in hieroglyphs, and it reached Florence from Rome in the 1780s.
Which pharaoh is named on the obelisk in the Boboli Gardens?
Ramesses II. His cartouches stand under a winged scarab, and the texts address Atum of Heliopolis.
Read more about Boboli Obelisk, Boboli Gardens, Florence
- Egyptian obelisks around the world and the names carved on them Egyptian obelisks around the world: Rome, Paris, London, New York, Istanbul. Whose names are carved on each, and how it left Egypt.
Where it is
Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.