The flooding of Florence

In November, 1966, Florence suffered one of the worst floods in its history after heavy rainfall caused the River Arno to burst.

The Italian city was submerged under tons of mud, rubble and sewage, leaving thousands homeless and destroying around 14,000 art treasures, and millions of books and manuscripts.

Among those who came to the rescue were the so-called ‘mud angels’ – young people from around the world who wanted to help in the clean-up.

Antonina Bargellini, then the 22-year-old daughter of the city’s mayor, recalls days of deep mud and stinking streets. She tells Jane Wilkinson about what happened.

Archive from BBC, British Pathe and Associated Press, plus Florence: Days of Destruction, directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1966.

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(Photo: Flooded street in Florence, 1966. Credit: Giorgio Lotti/Mondadori via Getty Image)