Screening of rare Zeffirelli film on Florence flood

University of Maryland shares rare Zeffirelli film; Remembers 45th
anniversary of Florence, Italy, flood

Screening
"Florence: Days of Destruction"
National Gallery of Art
4th and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington DC
Saturday, November 5, 2011
3:30 p.m.

A rare screening of Franco Zeffirelli's only documentary film-a
heartfelt call to action showing the effects of the 1966 flood that
devastated Florence, Italy, and rallied art lovers worldwide-will be
the centerpiece of a program hosted by the University of Maryland
Libraries and the National Gallery of Art.

The event marks the 45th anniversary of the flood.

Produced by the famed Italian director in the weeks following the
flood, the documentary urged support to help rescue Italian works of
art. Actor Richard Burton, who was working in Rome as the disaster
unfolded, narrated and appeared in the film and appealed for aid.

The University of Maryland Libraries hold the only known copy of the
English-language version of the film in the United States. RAI, the
national Italian radio and television company, makes the
black-and-white Italian version available on its website.

In the days following the November 1966 flood, volunteers from
throughout Europe and the United States descended upon Florence to
help recover books, paintings, and other works of art damaged by
water and sediment from the Arno River. Efforts of these so-called
"mud angels" helped to reduce the loss of Florence's priceless
cultural heritage. Some of these volunteers would go on to become
art and book conservators.

Conservators worldwide would later adopt standards and treatments
developed as a result of recovery efforts. The attention the flood
generated advanced a movement within academic research libraries to
formalize book preservation programs.

Carla Montori, head of the preservation program at the University of
Maryland Libraries, remembers the effect of the flood on her mother
and Italian father, who had traveled several times from their home
in Massachusetts to Florence. Upon hearing news of the damage to
Italy's treasures, they sat at their kitchen table and cried,
Montori recalls.

   "It was a major event in the world that reminded us of the
    fragility of our culture," she says. "Treasures were vulnerable
    to damage and destruction by a natural force that couldn't be
    averted."

Short presentations by participants in the flood recovery and a
panel discussion will follow the film. Speakers include Sheila
Waters, a calligrapher who accompanied her husband Peter Waters, a
noted bookbinder, to Florence; and Norvell Jones, a young
conservation trainee who would later teach conservation and work at
the National Archives.

The film was part of a collection given by the National Trust for
Historic Preservation to the University of Maryland and transferred
to the University Libraries in the mid-1980s. Staff member Linda
Sarigol remembers viewing it shortly thereafter. "Somebody needs to
see this," she remembers thinking at the time. "We really need to
get this out there."

The University of Maryland Libraries collection is the largest and
most comprehensive collection of preservation materials in the
United States.

Organizers of the November 5, 2011 event will show a digital
surrogate of the film to reduce wear on the celluloid original.

For more information about the event, contact

    Bryan Draper
    Collections Conservator
    University of Maryland Libraries
    301-405-9346
    draper1<-a t->umd< . >edu


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