On Tuesday afternoon, Rome was hit by a sudden storm, dropping more than 60 millimeters of water on the streets in less than an hour. This is the same amount of rain as an entire month of autumn.
A sudden storm whipped Roma on Tuesday afternoon, putting the Italian capital in check and causing damage to one of the wonders of the Ancient Romethe Arch of Constantine.
It is a work from the year 315 AD, built in the valley of the Colosseum, on the slope of the Palatine, to celebrate the victorious battle of Constantine against Maxentius on the Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312 AD
The monument was struck by lightning which caused some fragments to detach: “Our officials arrived at the scene immediately after the lightning struck. All the fragments were recovered and put to safety,” reads a note from the Colosseum Archaeological Park.
The latter explained that “the recovery operation carried out by the technicians was timely.” Two days before the storm Restoration works on the south façade of the Arch had begun..
Downpour over Rome: a month’s rain in one hour
Due to the downpour, local police patrols in Roma They carried out more than a hundred interventions. Firefighters were also numerous. The biggest problems occurred in the east and center of the city.
In the Roma I Municipality some 60 millimeters of rain in less than an houraccording to a note issued by Civil Protection. This is the same amount of rain as in an entire month of autumn.
Among the damages recorded, is the partial collapse of a scaffold inside the Circus Maximus. Inconveniences also in the metro: temporarily closed from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning some stops on line A. Floods also inside the Santo Spirito hospitalin the center of the capital. Several bus lines were diverted to alternative routes.
