LECTURE: Saving Florence’s Treasures in 1966 and Beyond

11 November 2026 - 18:00 – British Institute of Florence

Students form a chain to pass wet books to trucks, Peter Waters, National Central Library of Florence

In this lecture, author Linda Falcone will explore the experiences of women who played a vital role in Florence, during the flood and its aftermath, and share the insight of modern-day experts who have benefited from their legacy. From chemist Margaret Hey and calligrapher Sheila Waters and their work at the National Library, to museum director Maria Luisa Bonelli Righini, who singlehandedly saved the most prized possessions of the riverside venue now called Museo Galileo.

Women’s contributions to flood efforts did not end when the waters receded. In a city engulfed by 600,000 tons of mud and sludge, the Medici’s limonaia became a hospital for damaged artwork, but its most illustrious patient – Cimabue’s Crucifix from Santa Croce – was still under treatment a decade later, and in the painstaking care of conservators Paola Bracco and Ornella Casazza – whose research and insight changed restoration history.

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