A lightning strike knocked a chunk of stone off Rome’s ancient Arch of Constantine, just meters from the Colosseum, amid a sudden violent storm that struck the Italian capital late Tuesday, according to archaeological authorities.
No one was injured and all of the debris was collected and will be assessed for damage. The 4th century arch was undergoing renovations, which will now turn to repair work, the superintendent of the Colosseum Archaeological Park said in a statement.
“It seems important to us to underscore that just two days ago the restoration site of the southern front of the Arch of Constantine began and therefore we can confirm that it is a case that combines scheduled maintenance (relative to the restoration already planned) and emergency protection promptly carried out,” the statement reads.
Several tourists seeking shelter from the heavy rain said they heard the lightning strike the arch and then saw the debris fall, according to Reuters.
Roads were closed at the nearby Circus Maximus track after two large trees fell, damaging several cars and partially collapsing a grandstand set up for a concert. The Trevi Fountain also flooded in the storm, police said.
The storm, which was not predicted in earlier forecasts, was similar to the downburst that sank a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily on August 19, killing seven people including British tech titan Michael Lynch, according to Italy’s Civil Protection agency. More than 60 millimeters (2.36 inches) of rain – the average monthly amount for September – fell on Rome in less than an hour, the agency said.
The arch, which was built in 315 AD to honor the emperor Constantine’s victory over Maxentius, is more than 80 feet tall and stands inside the Colosseum archeological compound, where tourists queue to enter the ancient amphitheater.
The storm also flooded the lower tunnels of the Colosseum, which remained closed on Wednesday. Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gaultieri, met with the head of the Civil Protection, the Department of Public Works and the Department of the Environment along with local law enforcement to assess the damage. “We made an initial provisional assessment – tomorrow we will make the definitive one – of the damage of the incredible water bomb that hit the center of Rome, of the preventive interventions already carried out and those carried out today on an emergency basis,” he wrote in a post on X.
More severe weather is forecast for Thursday in the Italian capital.
