22 Sep The Obelisk of Axum: the stages of return

24 October 2008 – Farnesina’s Newsroom

By a ceremony to whom Ethiopian Authorities have ascribed an admirable simbolical and political value, on the 4 September 2008 the obelisk of Axum was brought back  to the site where it was found in 1935 by an italian archaeological expedition. The discovery also concerned other similar examples, which are nowadays located on the area of the Axumita Reign’s ancient capital.

The obelisks situated into Axum’s archaeological park used to have the function of funerary monuments, along the pre-Christian period. Throughout time, they have become the symbol itself of the age when the dinasties of proto-tigrino ethinic lineage, hailing from the actual Ethiopia and Eritrea, have politically and economically controlled the whole African horn and created Axumita’s Reign (from the II to the IX century AC).

At the moment of recovery, the obelisk was fragmented into 5 subterrean stumps. After its transportation to Rome wanted by the Italian Government, the obelisk was reconstructed and positioned close to Circo Massimo, in front of the former Ministery of the Colonies (now site of FAO).

Enumerated into the obligations Italy assumed with the Treaty of Peace of 1947 and reaffirmed into the Accord between Rome and Addis Abeba on 5 March 1947 for the “regulation of the derivative economic and monetary issues of theTreaty of Peace” , the stele’s restitution to Ethiopia has been suspended for a long time because of the numerous concomitant causes, among which the risk of damaging the monument during the dismantlement, tranport and reconstruction operations and its high costs.

Another reason that has delayed the obelisk’s return to Ethiopia was the Ethiopian emperor Hailé Sellassié’s attitude to leave the obelisk in Italy, rather than promoting its return to its original place Axum, epicentre of political  and religious power.

The current Ethiopian leadership (belonging to the tigrino lineage of axumite dinasties) rose to power in 1991 and proposed again the issue of the obelisk’s restitution until achieving the formal promise of return by President Scalfaro, on the occasion of his visit to Ethiopia in 1997.

On 19 July 2002, the Council of Ministers decided to begin the procedure for the restitution of Axum’s obelisk.

On November 2004, a bilateral Memorandum was signed with Ethiopia in order to establish the procedures of dismantlement, transport and rierection of the obelisk. While the first two operations just required Italy’s dedication, the monument’s conservation and erection were attributed to Ethiopian Government’s responsibility with the involvement of UNESCO.

The international Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the Italian “Studio Croci e Associati” have realized a feasibility technique study by which the stele has been divided in 3 sections before its transportation to Ethiopia. The segmentation and the transfer have been realized by the construction enterprise Lattanzi srl and entirely financed by Italy. The obelisk’s third and last section arrived to Ethiopia on April 2005.

The Italian Government and the Ethiopian one have entrusted the coordination of the obelisk’s reconstruction and positioning to UNESCO.
The same companied that made the dismantlement and transportation work, have finally adjudged the contract for the feasibility study and the second phase’s operation work.
The positioning work started in 2007 and finished in 2008.
The costs have been entirely covered by the Italian Government throughout UNESCO’s contribute for about 5 million dollars.
Actually, the Istituto Italiano per la Conservazione ed il Restauro is completing the stele’s restoration.