Fountain Of The Four Lions In Rome, Italy Royalty-Free Stock Photography

Detail of the fountain of the four lions in piazza del Popolo in Rome, Italy. The lions surround an Egyptian obelisk of Sety I later erected by Rameses II. The obelisk, known as the Flaminio Obelisk or the Popolo Obelisk, is the second oldest and one of the tallest obelisks in Rome some 24 m high, or 36 m including its plinth. The obelisk was brought to Rome in 10 BC by order of Augustus. The layout of the piazza today was designed in neoclassical style between 1811 and 1822 by the architect Giuseppe Valadier,. Piazza del Popolo lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome, and now called the Porta del Popolo. This was the starting point of the Via Flaminia, the most important route to the north.