4

When in Rome, I encountered the flood markers on the side of Santa Maria sopra Minerva church. Here is one I found online.

flood marker plaque

WalksInRome.com

The walk of a few blocks from Santa Maria sopra Minerva to the Pantheon is slightly downhill and then the Pantheon is set down further still. I was thinking just now that if the water was as high as the markers at Santa Maria sopra Minerva then the Pantheon would have been completely underwater.

So my question - was the Pantheon completely submerged when Rome flooded?

The "Great Flood" of the Tiber was 1557 as indicated on the marker. Other major floods that century were in 1530 and 1598.

12
  • 2
    Seems unlikely. It's at 15m above mean sea level and 43m in height. However, it has been flooded many times according to this article. Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 14:32
  • 1
    When did Rome flood?
    – MCW
    Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 18:00
  • 2
    @MCW The "Great Flood" of the Tiber was 1557 as indicted on the marker. Other major floods that century were 1530 and 1598
    – Henry
    Commented Sep 7, 2021 at 22:50
  • 1
    Can you see the Pantheon from that marker? If so, a simple look should tell you. Otherwise a topographic map, maybe Google Earth or similar...
    – jamesqf
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 3:38
  • 3
    But according to google street view, it seems like Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is right next (or maybe rather behind) the Pantheon, with no readily apparent differences in elevation.
    – Jan
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 11:59

1 Answer 1

9

According to Google Street View, Santa Maria sopra Minerva is actually right behind the Pantheon (with a small square in between) and the street level for both buildings seems to be quite similar. Wikipedia has an image by User Peter1936F that shows some more flood markers. I have marked the flood markers from 1557 and 1870 in yellow and red, respectively. Judging again from google street view, the height difference between the two markers seems to be about one and a half meter.

Flood markers at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, markers for 1557 and 1870 are marked

Why 1870? Because for the 1870 flood there are actually photographs of the flooded Pantheon, e.g. here.

1
  • 1
    So the answer to the question is no, it wasn't completely submerged.
    – jamesqf
    Commented Sep 9, 2021 at 16:51

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.