November 4, 1966: The Arno Flood and the Mud Angels

November 4, 1966: The Arno River floods in Florence, Italy, killing over 100 people and destroying many priceless works of art.

Incredibly, many of these works were rescued and restored by people who waded in and retrieved them. They became known as the Mud Angels.

There were virtually no emergency measures in place, at least partially because Florence is located in an area where the frequency of flooding is relatively low. In fact, approximately 90 percent of the city's population were completely unaware of the imminent disaster.

Residents were set to celebrate their country's World War I victory over Austria on November 4, Italy's Armed Forces Day. In commemoration, businesses were closed, and many of their employees were out of town for the public holiday. While many lives were likely spared as a result, the locked buildings greatly inhibited the salvaging of valuable materials from numerous institutions and shops, with the exception of a number of jewelry stores, whose owners were warned by their nightwatchmen.

There were 5,000 families left homeless by the storm, and 6,000 stores were forced out of business. Approximately 600,000 tons of mud, rubble and sewage severely damaged or destroyed numerous collections of books, manuscripts and fine art. It is estimated that between 3 and 4 million books and manuscripts were damaged, as well as 14,000 movable works of art.

Artist Marco Sassone, in a 1969 interview, recalled the impact of the flood on Florence's residents: "The only thing you could do was watch and be helpless. Nature was master... The women became crazy with fear. They began throwing things from the windows and screaming, 'Who is going to save my children?'"

The Mud Angels cleaned the city of refuse, mud and oil, and retrieved works of art, books and other materials from flooded rooms; experts from around the world volunteered their time and knowledge in the conservation of the aforementioned materials.

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November 4, 1966 was a Friday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were no games scheduled in the NHL. There were 3 games in the NBA:

* The Philadelphia Warriors beat the San Francisco Warriors, 134-129 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. Wilt Chamberlain scored 30 points, and had 26 rebounds and 13 assists. Rick Barry scored 46 points in defeat for the Warriors.

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 120-115 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. Oscar Robertson scored 36 points for the Royals.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 131-98 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.