1. The Lateranense, outside St John’s in the Lateran. 
Largest (32 metres) standing Egyptian obelisk in the world and the oldest, dating from the 15th.C. BCE.  It originally stood in front of the Temple of Amon, in Thebes, where the son of pharaoh Tuthmosis III had it carved in honour of his father.

Brought to Rome by Constantius in 357 CE to decorate the Circus Maximus.

At some unknown date and by some unknown cause, the obelisk fell. It was not until the 16th century that Pope Sixtus V ordered a search for the obelisk. It was found in three pieces, some 8 metres down in the former Circus Maximus and restored, about 4 metres shorter than it originally had been.

On August 3, 1588, after more than a year of effort, the Lateran Obelisk was raised in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, replacing the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius which stood there but was moved to the Campidoglio.

2. The Vaticano in Saint Peter’s Square.
Originally, it stood in Heliopolis. In the 1st century, Augustus had it moved to Alexandria, dedicating it to the memory of Julius Caesar, his stepfather. In 37 CE, emperor Caligula had it taken to Rome. It is the only one that has remained upright since the 1st C. It has no hieroglyphics.

During the Middle Ages, the gilt ball on top of the obelisk was believed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. Around 1600 the ball was removed and found to contain dust.

At its erection in 1586, Pope Sixtus V ordered the huge crowd of spectators to remain silent under pain of death. The ropes were about to break under the strain of the column's weight and a Genoese sailor risked his life, screaming "Water on the ropes!", saving the obelisk from crashing into a million pieces. The grateful Pope ordered that from then on, all the Vatican's Palm Sunday fronds be purchased in Bordighera, a seaside port near Nice (they still are).

In 1586 the obelisk was located on the central axis to the facade of the not yet built basilica, but when the building was completed the obelisk was found to be 4 metres out of line. In 1817 a thin line and discs were added that allow the obelisk to be used as a sundial.

3. The Flaminio in Piazza del Popolo... the second oldest obelisk in Rome and the first obelisk to reach Rome.

This obelisk was begun by Seti I of the New Kingdom 19th dynasty but it could not be completed in his era. After his death his son, Ramses II completed this obelisk for the sun temple of Heliopolis. This was about the 13th.C.BCE.

In 10 BCE, Augustus brought two obelisks from the sun temple of Heliopolis. One is the Flaminio obelisk, the other is now located in the San Giovanni in Laterano square (No. 4 below).

This obelisk was erected at Spina in the middle of the Circo Massimo. In 357 the other obelisk was erected beside it. The obelisk was discovered at Circo Massimo in 1586 and was rebuilt in the Piazza del Popolo by Pope Sixtus V. On one side of the base is an inscription saying that the Pope "moved the obelisk from the Circus Maximus, where emperor Octavian Augustus had dedicated it to the Sun by impious ritual and where it lay as a miserable broken ruin, giving it back its original shape and dedicating it to the most invincible Cross".

4. The Solare in Piazza di Montecitorio (Parliament House).

Originally from Heliopolis, dates back to about year 600 BCE, made for pharaoh Psamtik II, who had this monument made in honour of the god Ra. Brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BCE to decorate the Campus Martius where it was the centre of an enormous sundial. It caused such a stir that even the ship used to transport it was kept on public display. It is a sundial when combined with the lines in the piazza pavement.

The obelisk collapsed sometime around the 11th century, breaking into several fragments, that gradually ended up buried by rubble and debris.

In 1792 the obelisk was reconstructed and erected in front of the law courts.

A bronze globe with a double hole was placed on its top, to recall the original purpose of the monument: at mid-day, a ray of light was supposed to cross the sphere, marking the date on the square's pavement. The new device, though, proved inaccurate and very soon became useless.

A new line with bronze notches, with a merely decorative purpose, was set in the square in 1998. Although this line is somewhat accurate (currently about 10 minutes out), it is a pity that it does not sit square to the entrance to the Parliament House.

5. The Macuteo outside the Pantheon.

Originally an obelisk of Ramses II at the Temple of Ra in Heliopolis.

The Macuteo Obelisk was erected at the Temple of Isis, near the current-day Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. It was subsequently found, in 1373, near San Macuto and referred to as Guglia di San Macuto in several descriptions of Rome, and was erected at that time east of Santa Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline Hill.

In 1711 Pope Clement XI moved it to the center of the already existing Fountain of the Pantheon in front of the Pantheon.

The top of the obelisk is decorated with the mountains and the star of Clement XI.

6. The Minervio in the Piazza Minerva, outside Basilica Manta Maria Sopra Minerva.

Brought to Rome by Diocletian for the nearby Temple of Isis.

The obelisk dates back to the 6th.C.BCE. It was taken to Rome from from Sais (northern Egypt) where it had been stood by pharaoh Apries or Hophra, the son of Psamtik II, and it was dedicated to the gods Neith and Atum.

It was found in 1665, buried in a garden belonging to the Dominican convent by the church, very close to the site where the Temple of Isis and Serapis once stood.

The ruling pope in those days, Alexander VII, had it raised in this square, in 1667, with the elephant base designed by Bernini.

On that occasion, the eight-pointed star from the coat of arms of the pope's family (Chigi) was placed at the top.

7. The Dogali in the park in front of Termini train station.

This obelisk came to Rome probably in the 1st century and was erected at Iseum (the Temple of Isis), which was at the site of Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, where Minerva Obelisk now stands.  Some time after that the obelisk toppled and was buried in the ground.

After it was re-discovered in 1883, the inscription was immediately deciphered.

The obelisk was originally erected at the Sun Temple in Heliopolis by Ramses II.

The excavated obelisk was left as it was. 2 years later, the Kingdom of Italy was at war with the Ethiopia (the Eritrea war). During the war, in January 1887, all 548 soldiers of an Italian squad were killed by Ethiopian troops at the Battle of Dogali. As a memorial to the Italians it was decided that this obelisk be re-erected in front of Termine Station. The bronze plate "AGLI EROI DI DOGALI" (To heros of Dogali) was attached and the star "Stellone d'Italia" was put on the top. Therefore, this obelisk is known Dogali Obelisk.

8. The Matteiano at Villa Celimontana on the Caelian Hill behind the Coliseum.

This small villa, once home to the rich Mattei family, is now the seat of the Italian Geographic Society. The gardens have been turned into a public park, where a small number of roman remains, such as fragments of capitals, altars, statues and sarcophagi lay scattered.

Another obelisk by Ramses II and the smallest in Rome. The 'real' obelisk is only the top part of the monument, inscribed with hieroglyphs, among which is the cartouche of King Ramses II.

The first known location of this obelisk was the Capitoline Hill, by the convent adjoining the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, where it may have been placed in the 1400s.

In 1535 the convent's porch was refurbished and the obelisk was taken down.

Half a century later, in 1582, Rome's Senators (i.e. the city administrators) gave the monument to Ciriaco Mattei, a nobleman and an art collector.

The above 8 obelisks were created in antiquity by the Egyptians and moved to Rome after the Roman Conquest. The next 5 were manufactured in Egypt in the Roman period at the request of wealthy Romans, or made in Rome as copies of Egyptian originals.

9. The Agonalis in Piazza Navona above Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers". Although it looks very similar to the previous obelisks, this was carved in Rome in the late 1st century CE, and inscribed with hieroglyphs in the same style those taken to Rome from Egypt.

It was carved using granite from Egypt, commissioned by emperor Domitian (BCE 81-96), whose name is mentioned on the shaft as the "living image of Ra".

In 311, emperor Maxentius moved the obelisk to the Circus Maxentius at the start of the Appian Way.

After the fall of the Roman empire, both the Circus Maxentius and the arena "agonales", today the Piazza Navona, were left abandoned. The arena of the Navona was for centuries left as an open space, but by the end of the 1400's it had started to grow into the present plaza.

The Earl of Arundel paid a deposit and attempted to ship the four pieces of the obelisk to London in the late 1630’s but Pope Urban VIII prevented its export. Bernini then incorporated it into the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Note the Pamphilj dove on top, just underneath which, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, is reportedly the inscription "The Pope is Great".

10. The Quirinale in Piazza del Quirinale outside the Presidential Palace.

Originally one of a pair erected in the Mausoleum of Augustus, found buried in 1527 but of unknown origin.

During the Middle Ages they lay there, partly buried and broken into fragments. Pope Leo X (1513-21) had one of them unearthed and dragged to a nearby street that runs parallel to the river, where it is featured in some Renaissance maps, still in pieces.

In 1786, pope Pius VI moved this obelisk to the square in front of Quirinal Palace, the summer residence of the popes. Here the obelisk, resting on a tall travertine base, stands behind a large round basin of roman age used as a fountain, and is flanked by two huge statues of Castor and Pollux with their horses, Roman as well, that once belonged to the nearby Baths of Constantine. During the Middle Ages, these two figures represented one of Rome's main landmarks and the site was traditionally referred to as Montecavallo (horse-hill) after them.

Another interesting feature is that, like its twin at the Esqueline, the obelisk does not end with a pyramidion at the top, like all other obelisks, but its shaft is flat at both ends: they were either carved with this shape, or the small pyramidal end may have been cut off before standing them.

11. The Esquiline in Piazza del Esquilino behind Santa Maria Maggiori.

The twin of the Quirinale obelisk and the other obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus. It has no hieroglyphics and is a Roman imitiation of an Egyptian obelisk.

This one was erected on the western flank of the Mausuleum of Augustus, paired with the Quirinal Obelisk on the eastern flank.

Both obelisks fell into pieces and as the area was often flooded by the Tiber River they disappeared into the ground under a covering of silt.

In 1519 the opening of Via di Ripetta led to the discovery of one of them. This one was in four pieces, which were reassembled near the church of San Rocco in 1527.

Sixtus V had the obelisk repaired and placed in 1587 at the end of Strada Felice, a new street he had opened to reach Santa Maria Maggiore.

The top of the obelisk is decorated with the mountains and the star of Sixtus V.

12. The Sallustiano above the Spanish Steps, in front of the Trinità dei Monti church . A 2nd century copy of the Fiaminio obelisk in the Piazza del Popolo (though smaller). The stonemasons copied the hieroglyphics from the original Egyptian obelisks, but carved some of them upside down.

For centuries the obelisk was left abandoned in the Sallustian Gardens, where it had been torn down by Alaric‘s Visigoths in the year 410.

The obelisk was found by the Ludovisi and moved to the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano in 1734, but kept horizontal.

In 1789, the architect Giovanni Antinori moved it to its present location.

It was Pope Pius VI who commissioned the move, over the objections of the clergy of the Trinità dei Monti church. Pope Clement XII had earlier tried (and failed) to have the obelisk erected in front of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano in 1734, just as Pope Sixtus V had failed to move it to a spot in front of the Santa Maria degli Angeli Church in the 16th.C.

13. The Pinciano on the Pincian Hill in the Borghese gardens, near Piazza Popolo.

The obelisk was commissioned by Hadrian (117-38 BCE) and erected in Tivoli, north of Rome, for the tomb of Antinous, who drowned in the Nile while saving Emperor Hadrian's life.

The obelisk was found in three pieces by the Saccocci brothers in their vineyards near the Porta Maggiore in 1570 and was later bought by Cardinal Francesco Barberini in 1632 who moved it to the Palazzo Barberini.

It was then known as the Barberini Obelisk.

Donna Cornelia Barberini-Colonna, a descendant of the Cardinal, donated it to Pope Clement XIV in 1773 who moved it to the Cortile della Pigna in the Vatican.

The obelisk was finally erected on the Pincian by Pope Pius VII in 1822.

There was a 14th obelisk in Rome, but it is now in Axum, Ethiopia.

Placed in 1937 by Mussolini outside the "Ministry for Italian Africa" building behind the Circus Maximus.  Originally made in Ethiopia for King Ezana in the 4th century CE, Mussolini  ‘liberated’ it from the Holy City of Axum and erected it to commemorate Italy's 'conquest' of Ethiopia and as a symbol of fascist Italy’s imperial power.

In 2002, after being struck by lightning, it was removed for repairs, but Ethiopia under Emperor Haile Sellassie then demanded its return.

At a cost of around 1.5 million Euros to the Italian government, the obelisk was broken into three segments, carefully wrapped in a gel, mortar and a carbon-fiber shell, and placed in storage for three years while the runway at Axum airport was especially upgraded to facilitate its illustrious return.

The obelisk was finally airlifted home in 2006 but due to the finding of older burial chambers on the intended site, the obelisk then languished in Axum before

re-erection in 2008.

There are also two modern obelisks in Rome...

The first is on the Lungotevere Marasciallo Diaz in the northern Rome near the Olympic Stadium and part of Mussolini’s Foro Italico (originally Foro Mussolini).

It bears the large inscription, "Mussolini Dux".

At the end of the Fascist regime, all public references to Mussolini were outlawed and mostly removed, but the letters on this 55-foot column were too large to be effaced.

The other, in the E.U.R., was created in 1959 for the Rome Olympics.

Modern hieroglyphics in 92 panels narrate the endeavors of inventor Guglielmo Marconi and other 20th.C. Italian triumphs.

(Obelisk reference sources: In-Italy.com, wikipedia)

Then, of course, there’s the Pyramid at … Pyramid, near Porta San Paolo.

The Pyramid of Cestius stands at a fork of two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata. The 37 metre high pyramid was built about 18 BCE–12 BCE as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a magistrate and member of one of the four great religious corporations in Rome.  In the interior is the burial chamber, a simple barrel-vaulted rectangular cavity.  When it was (re)discovered in 1660, the chamber was found to be decorated with frescoes but only the scantest traces of these now remain. The tomb had been sealed when it was built, with no exterior entrance, but there was no trace left of any contents, assumed plundered in antiquity. The pyramid is open to the public on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

At the time of its construction, the Pyramid of Cestius would have stood in open countryside (tombs being forbidden within the city walls). Rome grew enormously during the imperial period, and, by the 3rd.C.CE. the pyramid was surrounded by buildings. It originally stood in a low-walled enclosure, flanked by statues, columns and other tombs.