BASILICA MARIA SOPRA MINERVA	::: << Prev ::: Thumbs ::: Next >> :::
	076 of 152. One block behind the Pantheon is the Santa Maria sopra Minerva. It is the only Gothic church in Rome and is so named because it was built directly on the foundations of a temple to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. A group of plaques on its right side shows a hand pointing towards a stream of turbulent water: Inscriptions in each plaque explain that the stream marks the level reached by the Tiber during floods which occurred in 1530, in 1557 and in 1598. Later, high walls were built along the river to protect the lower quarters of Rome.