Italy Returns Stolen Obelisk to Ethiopia By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News Nov. 23, 2004 — A cyclopean task will put to an end a decades-long diplomatic dispute between Italy and Ethiopia over a looted obelisk, according to a bilateral agreement signed last week in Rome. Signed by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin and Italian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Alfredo Mantica, the deal set up the final details over the transport of a 160-ton granite stele from Rome to the city of Axum. “ This is a symbol of national identity to Ethiopians. ” The monument is one of a group of...