3 hour Florence tour focusing on the 1966 flood

The 1966 flood in Florence caused many victims and damaged or destroyed millions of masterpieces of art and rare books. It is considered the worst flood in the city's history since 1557. With the combined effort of Italian and foreign volunteers alike, or angeli del fango ("Mud Angels"), many of these fine works have been restored. New methods in conservation were devised and restoration laboratories established. We will need to book it in advance but the unique opportunity to visit the book restoration lab is real, speak with an expert and find out that book conservation was invented in Florence as an aftermath of a tragic event. We will visit the basilica that suffered the most during this event, Santa Croce where Cimabue's Crucifix is preserved; severely damaged and one of the first masterpieces to be restored. We'll walk to the nearby National Central Library. From there walk over to Ponte Vecchio to get a closer look at the Arno river and then to the Cathedral square.