1966 flood of the Arno

The 1966 flood of the Arno (Italian: Alluvione di Firenze del 4 novembre 1966) in Florence killed 101 people and damaged or destroyed millions of masterpieces of art and rare books.

With the combined effort of Italian and foreign volunteers alike, or angeli del fango ("Mud Angels"), many of these fine works have been restored.

The intensity of the 1966 flood was further increased by both the topography of the Apennines, which contributed to the high run-off rates and river discharges, and urban development.

While many lives were likely spared as a result, the locked buildings greatly inhibited the salvaging of valuable materials from numerous institutions and shops, with the exception of a number of jewellery stores whose owners were warned by their nightwatchmen.

[6] Approximately 600,000 tons of mud, rubble and sewage severely damaged or destroyed numerous collections of books, manuscripts and fine art.

[8] Others: Realizing the immense wealth and importance of Florentine culture in a global context, many individuals and organizations contributed to the conservation mission, providing both funding and manpower.

The city of Edinburgh (Scotland), twinned with Florence, sent practical help for the citizens in the form of double-decker buses to temporarily replace those which had been lost in the floods.

When these eventually returned home, they operated with the international 'GB' registration plate still affixed to the rear; each also carried a small plaque presented by the Florentine transport authorities indicating their gratitude for the gesture made by the people of Edinburgh.

In a show of support for the Florentine art community, Pablo Picasso had one of his paintings, Recumbent Woman Reading, auctioned off on an internationally televised programme.

Similarly, Pietro Annigoni and Luciano Guarnieri donated the money they earned from selling 575 colour lithographs (depicting the events surrounding the flood and its aftermath), produced from 13 of their drawings.

Florentine native Franco Zeffirelli produced the short documentary Florence: Days of Destruction to raise awareness of the flood.

[18] While many institutions from around the world financially compensated employees who travelled to Italy and aided in the restoration of Florence, many others volunteered their services for absolutely no pay.

[1] In a 1996 interview, Primicerio offered three principal reasons as to why the Mud Angels felt compelled to help: a concern for future generations, a feeling of international unity and a pervasive sense of solidarity.

Many experts in the field of conservation, such as Peter Waters, utilised their knowledge in restoring the works of art and literature ravaged by the flood.

Card catalogs and in some cases, the actual books and documents were reproduced by reprinting on early presses, photocopying, or copying by hand.

[26] Many panel paintings were critically damaged as a result of water saturating their wood, causing the glue and gesso, which compose the priming layer, to dissolve.

Actions were taken to stabilize the problem by applying rice paper to the affected paintings and storing them in cool, stable environments where humidity was slowly decreased.

To dry a fresco, workers cut narrow tunnels beneath it, in which heaters were placed to draw out moisture from below (instead of outwards, which would have further damaged the paintings).

Fuel oil, which coated many painted works of art, was removed by using Japanese tissue paper to apply a solvent, which dissolved the tar.

Flaking sculpture was sprayed with a silicate mixture, while wooden pieces were treated with insecticides and toxic gases to kill insects and prevent future infestation.

It would be reasonable to estimate that more than 54,000 jobs were created in the administrative aspect of preservation alone.A significant amount of restorative work remains to be done in Florence.

Due to a lack of awareness, funding, and manpower, a great number of works of art and books lie in storage, dirty and damaged.

Christopher Clarkson, noted conservator, called attention to this problem in a 2007 letter, stating that the National Library still has a "warehouse" full of books to be repaired and bound; many others need cleaning or reassembling.