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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

Flood Plaques

29/3/2019

 
Map
Flood plaque of October 8 1530, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
Flood plaque, October 8th, 1530

The Dominican church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva sports a series of graphic plaques that record some of the heights that the floodwaters have reached when the river Tiber has broken its banks.

The oldest plaque dates back to 1422, while the most recent is dated December, 1870. When Rome became the capital of Italy, in 1871, high embankments were built along both sides of the river, thus bringing to an end the flooding of the city.

The plaque illustrated above dates back to the time of Clement VII (r. 1523-34), the pope most famous in English circles for denying King Henry VIII a divorce from his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon.

It reads (in translation): 'In the year of the Lord 1530, on October 8th, in the seventh year of the holiest lord Pope Clement VII,  the Tiber rose to this point, and all Rome would have been overwhelmed, had not the Virgin proffered swift aid.'


Historical flood plaques are to be found elsewhere in the city, such as at the nearby church of Sant' Eustachio. The oldest flood plaque dates back to November 6th, 1277, and can be found in the Arco dei Banchi, a narrow passage near the Castel Sant' Angelo.  

Flood plaques, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome
Flood plaques, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Flood plaque, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome
Flood plaque, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Flood plaque, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome
Flood plaque, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Flood plaque, Arco dei Banchi, Rome
Oldest flood plaque in Rome, November 7th, 1277 (Arco dei Banchi)
Flood plaque, Sant' Eustachio, Rome
Flood plaque 1495, Sant' Eustachio
Flood plaque, February 2nd 1805, Via dell' Arancio, Rome
Flood plaque, Via dell' Arancio

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    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
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      • Pope Paul III
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      • Pope Gregory XIV
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      • Pope Urban VIII
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      • Pope Innocent XII
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      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
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    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque