“On the occasion of the republication of Kathrine Kressman Taylor’s masterful account of the 1966 Flood, Florence: Ordeal by Water, Simon Gammell discusses the book and her own memories of that time with Vanessa Nicolson, writer of the acclaimed mìnovel Angels of Mud, which is set at the time of the Flood. Vanessa, is a journalist and memoir writer, who in 2021 published the acclaimed novel Angels of Mud, set in Florence at the time of the Flood.
Florence, Ordeal by Water is an intensely personal and richly detailed account in which Kressmann Taylor, a retired American art historian living in Florence, uses colour and humanity to paint a picture of the disaster. It is a beautifully written diary that describes the muddy water streaked with chrome yellow that engulfed the streets, and witnesses the elderly scholars working alongside younger students to save the city’s greatest and most priceless works of art. Amid the chaos, a great swan, coated with black oil, flails; a woman sings as she attacks devastation with a bucket and a rag; mudheaps are spangled with splinters of red, gold and silver Christmas tree ornaments.”
Where: The British Institute of Florence, Lungarno Guicciardini 9, Firenze
When: 18th November 2024 – 18:30/6 pm
If you are in Florence and would like to attend the lecture in person at the British Institute Library, please send an email to bif@britishinstitute.it
