Travelling through the upper Valdarno by train today was worrying. The line crosses and recrosses the river though often it is invisible. Not today. The flood plains are filled, stands of trees are up to their armpits in water. The centre of the Arno is a roaring torrent of khaki-coloured mud and debris, topped with white foam and broken by rock outcrops. The gravel beds that usually lie empty all summer long, flocked by wading birds are covered by flows of water like the Rhine. Tributaries boil in from the hills.
And it rains and rains. Icy thunderstorms, one after another rolling in from the north. They say it will never happen again. They say that the dams are no longer expected both to generate electricity and control the water flow towards Florence.
If it eases off raining tomorrow I shall walk down to the Accaiuoli and look how much clearance there is under the Pontevecchio. I'm expecting quite a crowd.
6 comments:
hope they've removed the precious documents to higher ground this time, eh ?
The National Library is exposed isn't it? It was the music, the newly deposited from all over Italy music from the earliest times to the end of the baroque. Lost forever.
Still raining hard so I haven't been to look at the river this morning. Venice is having a really bad time; like it did first in '66. It's the soaking of the ground and then it can't take any more that drives it all into a river channelled too tightly through the city. They'll be holding it right up towards the source I expect. There are cleared flood plains there now, where there used to be buildings and towns and village choke points.
Acciaiuoli
I can't say it right either, Anon.
Or flowerbeds, or oxen.
I have a book from those terrible times.
Absolutely terrifying photographs.
Fingers are crossed here in Ayrshire for you all - we have relatives in the city too.
Facciamo le corne!
The river has gone down - it stopped raining yesterday. It's very full as the largest body of water possible is put through the lower reaches and on to the sea, but it's merely fast and deep, not the foamy, breaking round all barriers stuff that was beginning last week.
Perhaps 1966 will be the last time.
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