On November 4, 1966, Florence was gripped by a catastrophe when the Arno River overflowed, devastating the historic center and its priceless treasures. Volunteers from around the world came to aid, later dubbed the \u201cMud Angels\u201d\u2014a term coined by Corriere della Sera journalist Giovanni Grazzini in his praise-filled articles about the \u201cbest of youth\u201d who shoveled mud for days to save artworks and invaluable cultural treasures from destruction.
\nIn honor of these \u201cangels\u201d who helped Florence rise again, on the 58th anniversary of the flood the Tuscan regional president, Eugenio Giani, announced a new digital archive to collect every possible account of their efforts. The archive is set to go online in 2026, precisely 60 years after the flood.
\nAmong those \u201cangels\u201d was Luciano Camerino, then a 40-year-old survivor of the Nazi roundup in Rome on October 16, 1943. He bore number 158510 tattooed on his arm from Auschwitz-Birkenau. On hearing of the flood\u2019s devastation, Camerino traveled to Florence to assist the local Jewish community, which had been heavily affected. The sight of the synagogue submerged in water and Torah scrolls turned to pulp was overwhelming; he collapsed and soon passed away. A damaged Torah scroll from the flood now rests with him in his grave.
\nIn 2016, on the flood’s 50th anniversary, Camerino\u2019s story was shared in an exhibit at the National Central Library, organized by the Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy. During the event, with his family present, Camerino was hailed as a \u201chero\u201d of Florence, one of the \u201cangels\u201d who enabled the city’s survival, both physically and morally. As former Mayor Piero Bargellini said in a ceremony at the Palazzo Vecchio honoring international aid, \u201cthe foundations of Florence reach into the soul, not only of Florentines but beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n