Speciale Alluvione

"We distributed emergency rations from a stall full of goods in the street infront of the entrance to the Archbishop's Palace"

An account by Massimo Fabbri (I)

I was only 15 years old but I still remember it as being an incredibleexperience, and this was also because I lived in Via Circondaria, hich remaineduntouched by the floodwaters. We spent the whole day of November 4th at homebecause of the bad weather and then in the evening, at about 6pm, my fatherdecided he wanted to go out and took me with him. We found a tank blocking allaccess to Piazza Sant'Jacopino: the square was flooded wth water and the streetsall around were like rivers. It was only then that we discovered there had been aflood. On November 6th I managed to reach the centre with a friend. We had heardthat a first aid and medicine distribution centre had been set up at theArchbishop's Palace and they needed volunteers to help them take people in anddivide them up according to their needs. We were put in charge of a stall full ofemergency rations and indispensible articles in the street in front of theentrance to the Archbishop's Palace. The more serious cases, people who neededmore than just an aspirin or cough mixture, were sent up to the upper floorswhere doctors and nurses were available. An incredible number of people came. We stayed there all day with only ashort break for lunch off the "K rations" from the American army. A water lorryfrom Camp Derby was parked in Piazza San Giovanni and the American soldiersdistributed water supplies as well the famous K rations. BACK FAN-Florence ART News a cura di Silvia Messeri & Sandro Pintus