Elefantino

Centro Storico

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Nicknamed the pulcino della Minerva ('Minerva's chick'), the Elefantino is a curious and much-loved statue of a puzzled-looking elephant carrying a 6th-century-BC Egyptian obelisk. Commissioned by Pope Alexander VII and completed in 1667, the elephant, symbolising strength and wisdom, was sculpted by Ercole Ferrata to a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The obelisk was taken from the nearby Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

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