The transfer of architectural heritage as a transcultural tool. The case of the obelisk of Axum

The story of King Ezana’s Obelisk of Axum and its Italian exile represents the epitomic example of the cultural and political implications of relocating architecture. The 4thcentury CE stele in basaltic stone, which stood broken in Axum, modern Ethiopia, was taken as war booty by the Italian troops after the military occupation of 1935. In 1937, the obelisk was transferred to Rome and re-erected in front of the Ministry of Italian Africa, overlooking the Circus Maximus: a graft resulting in cultural contaminations. Ethiopia had been asking for its restitution since 1947, but the stele was returned only in 2005. It was disassembled and reduced again into pieces, then transferred to Ethiopia by three cargo flight. The restitution required the export of Italian technologies and professionals to carry out the re-composition, providing the African country with the necessary knowledge to re-erect the other obelisks lying broken in Axum. From this point of view, the return of the obelisk prompted a process of knowledge transfer, opening new opportunities of cultural cooperation.