1966 Ravaged Realm of Art Article ~ Treasures of Florence devasted

Description: 1966 RAVAGED REALM OF ART vintage magazine article ~ Treasures of Florence devasted

~ Treasures of Florence devasted as Italy suffers its worst flood - Ravaged Realm of Art - A poignant survivor of the catastrophic floods that ravaged Italy a week ago, a statue of the Virgin stands in the muddy and desolate basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. At the crest of the flood, the 14th Century basilica was immersed in 15 feet of water but Giotto's frescoes in the narrow chapels to the right of the main altar escaped major damage. - Fury of the Arno in the beloved city of Dante - As "the green and lovely banks of Arno's waters" turned into "raging froth and mud," Dante's Inferno became a shuddering reality in his beloved city of Florence. Torrential rains, 90-mile winds and devouring floods wrought disaster throughout Italy but the brunt of the storm was borne by Florence. Two-thirds of the city was inundated. Buildings washed away, streets collapsed, cars and furnishings piled up in piazzas. Worst of all, much of the city's most precious heritage, the paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, musical instruments and archives of the Renaissance, lay submerged in water, mud and oil. As the storms subsided and art lovers around the world awaited details of what appeared to be an incalculable loss, Florence began the disheartening job of digging out and cleaning up. With shipments of food and water came an influx of students and specialists in restoration to help in the desperate work of salvaging sodden frescoes by Giotto, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto, oil-smeared sculpture by Michelangelo, Ghiberti and Donatello, more than 600 paintings in museums, thousands of manuscripts, rare books and documents in libraries. Many of these works can be restored, though the process will take years. But some of Florence's treasures are lost forever. At its peak, the Arno crashed over the bridges of Florence, shattering the shops that line the Ponte Vecchio and gouging huge chunks out of the streets along the riverbanks (left). The flood seeped into the galleries of the Accademia, leaving streaked walls and a floor of shining mud to catch the reflections of Michelangelo's tormented Slaves and his towering David (center below). And in piazzas all over town, deep oily sludge swirled around tumbled automobiles and household debris (bottom). One of the greatest treasures of Florence was a Crucifix by Cimabue who, said the Renaissance biographer Vasari, "was born ... to give the first light to the art of painting." Around 1285 he painted this anguished and sinuous figure of Christ which was placed above the high altar of Santa Croce. Later it was moved to the basilica's museum. When the torrents rushed into Santa Croce, the wooden Crucifix was submerged. As the waters receded, they carried with them much of the ancient paint, leaving a ravaged image (opposite page), the specter of a masterpiece beyond repair. - A masterpiece ruined beyond repair - Salvation of the 'Gates of Paradise - After the deluge, crowds gathered at the ancient Baptistery to stare sorrowfully at damage done to the celebrated Gates of Paradise. Five of the gilded bronze panels, made by Lorenzo Ghiberti in the first half of the 15th Century, had been dislodged, but by a stroke of good fortune they were swept against the wrought-iron fence surrounding the medieval building. Though scratched and covered with mud, all five panels were intact. A careful cleaning will bring to light once again their exquisite reliefs (shown in the column at left), which illustrates stories from the Old Testament: the Creation and the Expulsion from Eden, Cain killing Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers in Egypt, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. ~

Size: The dimensions of each page of the six-page article are approximately 10.5 inches x 13.5 inches (26.75 cm x 34.25 cm).

Condition: This original vintage six-page article is in excellent condition unless otherwise noted (minor edge tanning).