The Florence Flood of 1966
A historical reference on the flood of November 4, 1966 - and the world's effort to save Florence.
On the morning of November 4, 1966, the Arno overran its banks and flooded the center of Florence under water, mud and heating oil - up to 6.7 meters (22 feet) deep in places. Thirty-five people died. Thousands of works of art and close to a million books at the National Library alone were damaged, and young volunteers came from around the world to dig the city out. The rescue that followed changed the way the world cares for its art and books.
This site has documented the flood and its legacy since 2006, and helped bring some of the rare color photographs of the flood itself to the city archive of Florence.
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The 60th Anniversary of the Florence Flood: November 4, 2026
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On the night of November 3-4, 1966, after days of relentless rain, the Arno broke its banks and poured into Florence. By morning the historic center was under water, mud and heating oil - up to roughly 6.7 meters (22 feet) deep in the Santa Croce district. Thirty-five people died: 17 in the city and 18 elsewhere in the province. About a million volumes at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale were sub... read more.Looking Towards Piazza Santa Trìnita, November 4, 1966
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This is a photo from the Balthazar Korab archive in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
Obviously taken on November 4th, 1966 - it is a view towards Piazza Santa Trìnita from the Arno. You can see two figures walking in waist to chest-high water.
There are literally of hundreds of slides and photos in this archive that have probably never been seen by the public.... read more.Florence Rises From the Flood
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Several years ago I came across an image, in color, of the flood of 1966 that was credited to a B. Kolrab. After some on and off digging around, I finally tracked it down as the work of architectural photographer Balthazar Korab (more on that side of the story soon).
The thing that intrigued me most about that particular color photograph however was what I learned after this blog helped discover... read more.About
Florence Flood has documented the great flood of Florence of 1966 since 2006, and helped bring some of the only known color photographs of the flood to the city archive of Florence. More about this site
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