Presentation of “The Curators’ Quaderno. Women of the Flood: A New Future for Florence, 1966”

2 November 2026 17:30

Language: Italian

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Florence’s 1966 flood, on Monday, November 2, at 17:30, the latest issue of The Curators’ Quaderno, dedicated to the “Women of the Flood: A New Future for Florence, 1966”, will be presented at Museo Galileo.

This notebook-style publication, spotlights the little-known but hugely significant contributions of women conservators, curators, “mud angels” and museum administrators to the rescue efforts of the city’s historical heritage after the Arno broke its banks, engulfing the city in 600,000 tonnes of mud and rubble. 

The event will feature insight from top voices in the fields of restoration and the preservation of culture, as we remember women’s contributions to the post-flood efforts. Museo Galileo, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, and the National Library of Florence all played fundamental roles in the days and years following the Arno’s flooding. We will share mud-angel memories, hear stories of heroism and understand how the flood shaped the lives and careers of those still working to preserve heritage lost – and found – because of the flood.

The Curators' Quaderno was created by the Calliope Arts Foundation, Restoration Conversations magazine, and The Florentine Press, in collaboration with Museo Galileo, the Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Authored by Linda Falcone, it includes excerpts from conversations or written insight from the following experts: Maria Luisa Righini Bonelli, Elisa di Renzo, Mara Miniati, Alessandro Sidoti, Fiorella Orlandi, Speranza Storace, Sheila Waters, Emanuela Daffra, Ornella Casazza, Vanessa Nicholson and Katherine Kuh.

The Curators’ Quaderno is a collection of notebook-style publications, conceived by Calliope Arts, in collaboration with The Florentine Press, to raise awareness of women’s contributions to the fields of art, science and culture.