The Pope entrusted architect Domenico Fontana with the task of removing the obelisk from its original location and placing it in St. Peter’s Square and then raising it on a pedestal. It took 900 men and 140 horses to complete the work. In order to further facilitate the erection of the 327-ton monolith, the Pope issued an edict forbidding anyone to speak or enter the construction area. Violators would be punished with death. Everything went well until, on 10 September 1586, right at the end of the operation, a Ligurian sailor, Bresca da San Remo, realised that the ropes holding up the obelisk were about to break due to excessive tension and shouted, heedless of the papal warning: "Water to the ropes". He knew that hemp becomes shorter and more elastic when wet. The architect immediately took up the suggestion and successfully completed the work. The sailor was pardoned by the Pope, who not only honoured him with the title of captain of the first pontifical line regiment, but also granted his family the privilege of supplying the Vatican with the branches used for Palm Sunday.
