Federico

It's a funny story... But I can tell you only what I know - not what has happened exactly.

There was a war between Italy and Ethiopia in 1935, because the fascist regime wanted to have their “empire”. So the only part of Africa that was not yet colonized by France, England and - as well - Germany was Ethiopia. The only independent state in Africa for many years.

Nevertheless... Italy declared war against Ethiopia and conquered Ethiopia after a bloody invasion. And they decided to celebrate their victory in the same way the roman emperor did many centuries ago. So getting an Obelisk from Egypt, inspired by Napoleon and his Egyptian obelisks ... They decided to take this Obelisk from Axum, which is in the northern part of Ethiopia.

At that time the Obelisk was laying on the terrain, divided into parts. So it was quite easy to transport it to Italy and to rebuild it here, 500 m from where we are sitting now.

After this bloody part of the story the Obelisk became quite soon something useless, something that is better to forget about, instead of remembering it. And it was located at a very busy (/trafficated??) street, so it was not the best place to admire (/look at) this artistic piece.

In the following years, because of the end of the colonialist period, because of a different "world mood", things changed. A first case was the monument that the Italians had stolen from Ethiopia, the "Lion of Juda". The "Lion of Juda" was released to Ethiopia in the 1970ies, without a major problem.

While for the Obelisk, the problem started when they tried to calculate the costs for the transportation. (Laughs) Because of the costs everything remained frozen for 20-25 years. I can't remember exactly... but for a very long period. Finally, in the end, somebody found the money and the Obelisk came back to Ethiopia, to Axum.

(start here?) I remember very well the Obelisk standing here. In the early 60ies, when I was really young, the traffic jam was not so terrible. So I had the chance to ride on my bicycle. Also the garden of the FAO was open to public, so I could run (go) inside (and around) the building. I was always playing close to the Obelisk.

The Obelisk was so high, 34, 35 meters, I can't remember exactly. Very impressive.

The most interesting souvenir of the Obelisk that I have is the damage of the Obelisk itself that some automatic guns procurated (???) during the liberation of Rome in 1943. As a child, I usually did go with my fingers there, trying to touch the sign that was left by the bullets.

Luckily I had the chance to go to Axum myself later on, and to see the other Obelisks, before the dismantling of this one. There are enormous amounts of Obelisks, laying scattered on the ground. It's very nice. Axum is an interesting place.

I don't remember the transport (/ dismantling) of this one. The preparations yes, because they took weeks, probably months. But not the very day when they decided to start the process.

The lightning? I don't remember this lightning. I remember only the fact. But not as a personal souvenir. I did read it somewhere.

Frankly speaking, at the time the situation was quite clear: the political left of Italy wanted to return the Obelisk to Ethiopia, the right wing (/field) did not. At that time I was active in the left field. So my opinion was quite simple: it's not ours.

Then, naturally, while growing up, I have modified my attitude. Because the situation is not always as "simple".

The whole of the British Museum, the Egyptian part of the British Museum, a huge part of the Louvre (loughs), a huge part of Italian museums... (laughs)... should return. I don't know how many hundreds of pieces ...! In the Vatican... it's everywhere. When you imagine that the second most important Egyptian museum is located in Italy, in Torino…

OK, some things where bought - but other things where not. Is art universal, belongs to everybody? Is it more important to leave the stuff where someone could take care of it? Is it an "universal" heritage, or only the heritage of a small part of the world? It's not an easy answer.

When I was younger the situation appeared to me as quite simple. Growing older you understand that each case must be treated differently. And you always have to ask yourself: What is better for the arts? And not, was is better for the "political dignity" of a state. That is something less important.

When the Obelisk arrived back in Ethiopia, there where some small articles in the Italian media. But no big news. Something like "Finally the Obelisk has returned to it's place." And small news on the television, maybe 30 seconds. Less than one minute, nothing really exciting.

(I think at that time it was also a difficult period of the political situation in Ethiopia. The presidency of Mengistu was not really a nice period for Ethiopia. The war with Eritrea ... I have many friends from Eritrea here in Rome. That's the reason why I went to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia as well.)

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