Tiber floods & Via del Corso

Today's photos:

1. The Tiber island with its two bridges on a "normal" day.

2. Almost the exact same view during the high water of 2012.

3. The wall of the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva with flood markers from various years.

4. A close-up of one of the markers from the preceding photo. See its translation in the text.

5. The straight and narrow Via del Corso seen from the top of the Victor Emanuel

Monument in Piazza Venezia.

6. Here is Via del Corso seen from the other end at Piazza del Popolo.

7. In this painting from 1860, French artist Jean-Baptist Carpeaux depicts the start of the race as he imagined it would have been during Renaissance times. To me it looks like something Michelangelo would have painted, with its twisting bodies and bulging muscles.

8. Another calmer representation of the start.

Tiber Flood Inscriptions

Prior to 1900, before the retaining walls were built, the Tiber river often overflowed its banks and caused serious flooding in Rome. In various parts of the city you can still find markers on the walls of buildings indicating the level reached by the flood waters, as well as the date. The oldest of these inscriptions can be found on Via del Banco di Santo Spirito in the historic center. It is dated November 7, 1277.

A curiosity

This particular inscription includes not only the date of the flood, but also the fact that it occurred during a sede vacante, a Latin term used to describe the period between the death of one pope and the election of his successor. In fact, John XXI died on May 20, 1277 and the conclave to choose his successor dragged on for over 6 months. Finally, Nicholas III became pope on December 26, 1277, over a month after the flood.

There is one place in particular in Rome where you can see several of these flood markers: Piazza della Minerva on the wall of the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva just behind the Pantheon (photo 3). This area, including the Pantheon, is one of the lowest parts of the city; it suffered many floods over the centuries before the retaining walls were built in the late 1800s to contain the Tiber (photos 1 & 2). Here is the translation of the marker shown in photo 4:

In the year of the Lord 1530 on the eighth day before the Ides of October (Oct. 8), in the seventh year of the pontificate of Pope Clement VII,

(Here you see the hand pointing to the level of the water)

the Tiber rose to this point and all Rome would have been destroyed if the Virgin had not brought swift help.

Via del Corso

Interesting facts about the varied history of Rome can also be found in the stories behind the street names in the city. If you have ever been to Rome you have probably walked along or at least crossed Via del Corso, street of the (horse) race, the main north-south thoroughfare in Rome. It stretches in a straight line for 1.5 kilometers from Piazza del Popolo in the north to Piazza Venezia in the south (photos 5 & 6). The name of the street derives from the running (corso) of the barberi (fast horses) which was held every year at Carnival time along the entire length of the street, starting in Piazza del Popolo and ending in Piazza Venezia.

A curiosity

After the assassination of King Umberto I in 1900, the name of the street was changed to Corso Umberto I, in honor of the martyred king. However, when the kings fell into disgrace after World War II, the original name was re-adopted. Notice that the word corso is now used as the title of any important street, not only in Rome but in all of Italy. So, for example, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Rome has nothing to do with the horse race; it simply means Vittorio Emanuele II Avenue.

Getting back to the race itself, it was a real no holds barred contest, more so even than the two famous Palio races held every year in Siena – a real free for all. Unlike the Palio however, this was a race of riderless horses (photos 7 & 8). The contest was discontinued in the late 1800s because of a tragic accident which happened during the race. In the excitement of the moment, a young boy ran out into the street just as the horses were approaching at full speed. The child was trampled to death in the presence of Queen Margherita who was a spectator at the race. This was the last running of the barberi; only the name survives in the label of the street.

A curiosity

Today we take for granted the illumination of the streets of our towns and cities, but of course it has not always been that way. During the pontificate of Pius IX (1846-1878), to the wonder of the population, Via del Corso was for the first time entirely lined with gas lighting.