About this walk
A walk following the traces of the November 1966 flood, from the marks on the building facades to the recovery efforts the city devised in its aftermath.
The stops
Walk them in order; each story plays when you reach its pin.
- 1Stop 1
The night of 4 November
During the night of 3 to 4 November 1966, the Arno burst through the city, and you can still see the marks at eye level.
- 2Stop 2
The line on the wall
Two marks in the same wall, one above the other, with six centuries between them.
Read the story - 3Stop 3
The lowest point in the city
This is where the water rose highest, in the neighbourhood with the cheapest homes and the most workshops.
Read the story - 4Stop 4
The crucifix that survived
Cimabue's crucifix became the face of the disaster, and the damage was deliberately left visible.
Read the story - 5Stop 5
The mud angels
Here young people from all over the world passed soaked books from hand to hand, in the dark and in the mud.
Read the story - 6Stop 6
The bridge that survived 1333
The Arno has flooded before, in 1333, 1557 and 1844, and this bridge has lived through all of it.
Read the story - 7Stop 7
The oil in the cellars
What made the water so destructive was sitting in the cellars beneath your feet: thousands of tonnes of heating oil.
Read the story - 8Stop 8
The night on the bridge
A night watchman saw the water coming and called the goldsmiths, who emptied their shops in the dark.
Read the story - 9Stop 9
The days without water
Days on end without drinking water, light or a working phone, while help began pouring in from all over Europe.
Read the story - 10Stop 10
What the City Learned
What Florence took from that night: monitoring stations, dams, and a restoration craft that now travels the world.
Read the story
Ready when you are
Walk The Flood of 1966 with ROODS.
10 stops through Florence. Open ROODS in your browser, walk to the first pin and the story plays.
- Stories on a map, with narrated audio
- Walk at your own pace, stop where you like
- Runs in your browser. An app is optional.
