Those who come to visit Florence today and visit the all major spots in the city could never imagine what happened in the overnight from the 3^rd to the 4^th of November, 1966. After days of steady rain, the Arno river was discharged with a massive volume of water coming from its original course, fed by the oreography of the Apennines and a the subsequent risk of burst of the Levane and La Penna dams in Valdarno.

Water currents reached the city at a rate of 60km per hour, giving the impression that the only thing one could do was run away from it and just watch nature’s power, helplessly. Streets, such as Via del Calzaiuoli, worked as narrow channels for floodwaters, speeding up the destruction. A lot of places, like the Piazza del Duomo, were underwater. Santa Croce area had marks of nearly 6,5 meters high. Gas, electricity and water supplies had to be cut off. Hospital emergency generators failed. Landslides obstructed roads leading to Florence. Furthermore, it was impossible to answer all calls for help. Chaos!

Firenze, alluvione 1966 - YouTube

The 1966 flood of the Arno river took many lives, caused a lot of loss throughout the region, damaged and destroyed thousands of masterpieces (from painting to literature). However, with the combined effort of Italian citizens and the famous angeli del fango (“mud angels”) many of these fine works  have been restored.

Nowadays, despite the urban development, adjustments have been made in order to not let it happen again. Hardly no scars were left to see for the tourists that come to visit for a day or two. What was mainly left was the lesson that we cannot mistreat the environment and underestimate the nature’s power.