"...onore agli angeli del fango."

May 25, 2016 11:55 AM

Florence and the Mud Angels. As a sinkhole 200m long and 7m wide opened up along the Arno River embankment around 6.15 am this morning after a major water main broke during the night, the spectre of the Arno flood of November 4th, 1966* looms in the not so distant past.

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. Collectively, these people have been fondly referred to as "Mud Angels", due to their commitment to working in such deplorable conditions.

Back in the present day, part of the embankment has moved approximately 2m and is being closely monitored for signs of collapse, especially with the weather forecasting torrential week-long rains starting on this coming weekend.

This is not the first time a sinkhole has caused chaos in Italy; they are particularly common in the south of the country due to a combination of weather conditions and structural issues.

* Venice also flooded that day, spurring modern day conservation and restoration efforts

posted by romakimmy (8 comments total)

Oh woowwwwww, I walked on that very embankment about 2 years ago.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:10 PM on May 25, 2016

related: the 1966 floods are the backdrop for Helenga's exquisite novelThe Sixteen Pleasures...now, to RTFA....
posted by j_curiouser at 12:23 PM on May 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

I was just there about three weeks ago. They have flood level markers on quite a few of the buildings in the city, which was fascinating.
posted by drklahn at 12:25 PM on May 25, 2016

All these poor drivers just wanted a parking spot with a view of the Arno.
posted by ocschwar at 2:05 PM on May 25, 2016

(Couldn't help it with that. Glad to hear they think it is the water main, because that hole looks scary close to a lot of beauty. )
posted by ocschwar at 2:09 PM on May 25, 2016

In the early nineties I lived in Florence, I knew an art restorer. He spoke of the late sixties as a golden age of his profession.
posted by bq at 3:40 PM on May 25, 2016

In the early nineties I lived in Florence, I knew an art restorer. He spoke of the late sixties as a golden age of his profession.

I contemplated becoming a book conservator and spent a summer volunteering at the Smithsonian's conservation lab a once a week to get a feel for the work. The Arno flood came up more than once, and really seems to be a touchstone in the profession.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:49 PM on May 25, 2016

I'm there now, a few blocks away. Water to a lot of the city was out for half a day and traffic was nutty.
posted by Capybara at 10:18 AM on May 26, 2016