 This
piazza is situated in front of the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
It is five minutes away from the pantheon.
It has an obelisk, which is 5.47 metres tall. This includes the
obelisk itself, the elephant, the pedestal and the four- step basement.
It is made of red granite. Originally this obelisk was a part of
a pair commissioned by the pharaoh Apries at Sais. The other one
is now in Urbino, a small Italian town.
 It
is not known how this obelisk reached Rome. However after being
brought to Rome it stood outside the temple of Isis. It was found
beneath the ruins of the temple in the monastery garden next to
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. In 1655 the Dominican monks discovered
it. Pope Alexander VII (Chigi) decided to re-erect it in front of
Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. The obelisk was placed on the
back of a sculpted elephant. The official ceremony was held on July
11, 1667 and the Pope was unable to attend it as he had passed away
on May 22, 1667.  The
elephant was made of marble and was designed by Giovanni Lorenzo
Bernini. Ercole Ferrata executed the sculpture. Although the obelisk
is small it is very lovely and has inspiring inscriptions carved
on its surface.
There is an inscription dictated by the Pope himself. It says ‘He
who sees the carved symbols on the obelisk of wise Egypt borne by
the elephant, the strongest of all animals, will understand that
indeed it is a robust mind which sustains solid wisdom”.
 Santa
Maria Sopra Minerva is the only gothic style church in Rome with
gothic stained glass windows. The ceiling is painted in blue with
golden stars. It is the home of one of Michel Angelo’s earlier
works. This is the sculpture of Jesus the Redeemer with his cross.
The remains of St. Catherine of Siena are interred here. Fra Angelico
is also buried here. There is also a beautiful fresco representing
the life of Thomas Aquinas.
A visit to this piazza is indeed an experience of the intermingling
of past cultures with the day-to-day life in modern Rome.
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