Dark Water: Art, Disaster, and Redemption in Florence

by Robert Clark

Birthplace of Michelangelo and home to untold masterpieces, Florence is a city for art lovers. But on November 4, 1966, the rising waters of the Arno threatened to erase over seven centuries of history and human achievement.

Now Robert Clark explores the Italian city’s greatest flood and its aftermath through the voices of its witnesses. Two American artists wade through the devastated beauty; a photographer stows away on an army helicopter to witness the tragedy first-hand; a British “mud angel” spends a month scraping mold from the world’s masterpieces; and, through it all, an author asks why art matters so very much to us, even in the face of overwhelming disaster.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Art, Italy, Art History, Ebooks, Travel

354 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2008

About the author

Robert Clark is a novelist and writer of nonfiction. He received the Edgar Award for his novel Mr. White's Confession in 1999. A native of St. Paul, Minneapolis, he lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.

Clark's books touch on several genres but often return to questions centered in God: "Is there a God? Does he love us? Is he even paying attention?"

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert^^^Clark

Reviews

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

Focus on the destructive properties of water. Floods through the ages are introduced until the flood of 1966 is reached. Focus of the press was originally placed on the "human and economic costs of the flood....but art pressed its way into public consciousness." Not only were paintings and frescos dating back to the 1300s in danger of being irreparably damaged, but the library with over a two million books was also close to annihilation. So the seeds are down for a great moral debate: which is to be saved first: humans or artifacts? This argument is best summarized in Virgil's phrase "lacrimae rerum"-the tears of things, the loss of happiness beyond measure, the loss of hope, the loss of beautiful objects.
So here is where my sense of contradiction sets in. Clark does an excellent job relating the restoration of masterpieces to the "mud angels" who volunteered to work for £1.00 an hour. But for whatever reason I didn't find those sections interesting. I just didn't mesh with those chapters. I was much more interested in the historical aspects of the book. Therefore, the book seemed several chapters too long for me.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

An oddly disjointed account of the 1966 flood in Florence that should have included more pictures. I had to frequently resort to the internet and my art history books to get a better sense of the devastation of the flood, the art works that were damaged, and the scope of the restoration efforts that were required. I would have liked to read more of the of science behind the restoration efforts - something the author either didn't bother to take the time to understand or find interesting. Instead, the author deliberately but inartfully crafted the book around an Icarus theme in an effort to imply a moral lesson. It comes off as pretentious.

I also didn't particularly enjoy the final portion of the book where the author subjects us to an account of his experiences in writing the book and his own struggles with beauty, art, and religion. That seems to be formulaic these days in these sorts of quasi-journalistic accounts, but frankly I could do without it.

Great subject; too bad the book didn't do it justice.

[JennyB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Art, Italy and restoration -- three things I find fascinating, and one book that combines them all. What could be better, right? Well, this book could, for one thing.

Robert Clark is a wonderful writer, but somehow this book just did not really work for me. Clark begins by looking at the history of Florence starting in the 1300s, including its many illustrious citizens and all of the more remarkable floods of the Arno prior to the one in 1966. Talking about the leading lights of the Renaissance (Dante, Vasari, Cimabue, Giotto, Michelangelo and Leonardo) up through more recent Florentine residents such as Henry James, the Shelleys and Elizabeth Barrett Browning takes up about half the book.

Then there is a section that describes the flood, and the rest is spent on its aftermath, and the efforts to rescue and restore damaged books and artworks. There is either too much detail (1300 to 1965) or too little (1966 on). There are a small number of historically important Florentines (writers and artists), but an overwhelming array of indistinguishable contemporaries, from minor functionaries' to ordinary residents' experience during the flood.

There's a good bit of detail about the restoration of the nearly destroyed Cimabue crosifisso (not enough for my liking, plus it is disjointedly split up throughout the book), but just a lot of vague general info about the rescue and restoration of millions of books and documents from the National Library.

Come to think of it, that rather describes the trouble of the whole book: too much of everything, but not enough of any one thing. If Clark had narrowed the scope of his book, he might have come up with something quite good. As it stands, however, reading to the end of this is probably reminiscent of trying to penetrate the thick layer of obscuring mire that covered the city's art in 1966, in an attempt to reveal the masterpieces that lay beneath.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of the 1966 flood of Florence, Italy, but it is also much more than that. It's the history of the city and its artists that provides context for the art that was damaged or lost; it's a story of the 19th and early 20th century ex-pats who romanticized the working city of Firenze into the iconic museum city that is Florence; it's the tragedy of the people who lost their lives the flood, and the sacrifice of people who toiled for decades in a labor of love to restore the great art. It outlines as well how the media can take a painting that was relatively obscure before the flood and reshape it into a "masterpiece." The force of the flood, it's depth, and the disaster it wreaked were of almost biblical proportions. Many posed the question about why resources were being expended on saving art when thousands were homeless, without food, heat, or clean water. One person posed a question that if the river is flooding and you see a baby and a Leonardo Da Vinci painting floating by, which one do you save?
I was a little disappointed that despite all the vivid images of the art and the flood described in the book, there were only about 6 grainy black and white photos in it. If we ever get to go to Florence, I'll be sure to read this again first.

[Bluelinesue]

While this book has an interesting story to tell, and I did learn about Italian art history, it was completely frustrating because of lack of photos. The flood in question happened in 1966! There are loads of pictures, and yet this book included just 6 (8 if you count the 2 on the cover) and 2 of them were not about the flood anyway. grrrrr This problem was made worse by the fact that the author is following the progress of a photographer who was on the scene and telling us how he documented the event and how the pictures were so compelling. How about showing us a few of them, eh? Either some editor blew it, or they had terrible time getting the rights to the photos. And I had some other quibbles with the book's material, including the last 50 pages that devolved into extended stories about the author's wanderings around Rome and Florence, so overall I was plain frustrated. There must be a better book out there somewhere about this flood in Florence. Best to find that one and read it.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember seeing high water marks painted on walls when we were in Florence, and having just read Stephanie Storey’s “Oil and Marble” about Michelangelo and Leonardo’s years in Florence, I turned to this book with some anticipation. Clark takes us on an art history course from the 13th century on before he gets to the Great Flood of 1966. The stories of people experiencing the flood and the vast effort afterwards to restore the art work and books that were damaged were the most interesting parts of the book, I thought. Clark spends the last few chapters on his later trips to Florence and his musings on art in general. Perhaps this book tried to be too many things at once.

[DJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting because of knowing the art and Florence but it got tiresome after awhile. It was hard to remember who was who and what they did. It was very interesting learning about what really happened right after the flood and what people did, although it was clear this story was put together long after the fact and based on various people's recollections. I am now motivated to go find the old Life magazine stories of the flood.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed on this book. It begins with a hundred pages talking about famous Florentines, regardless of their connection to the flood, and meanders from there. The information was poorly presented or poorly researched. Finally, one of the main characters was a famous photographer, yet there are almost no pictures in the book to help describe the destruction.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought it was a history of a flood in Florence, instead was a travel memoir and mostly art history - not my usual read.

[Elizabeth K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quasi-journalistic account of the 1966 Florence flood and the subsequent art restoration efforts. This was going around at the office among my coworkers who I worked with in Florence. This is one of those books that seems to require an insider's advantage. If you are already familiar with Florence, or possibly very familiar with Florentine art history, then this is great because it's like hearing a good story about people you already know. You can picture how everything happens and exactly what's going on and supplement the material with the other stories you already know about the '66 flood. I was not overly engaged by the theme the author used to arch over the narrative -- that Florence, as a city, as a culture, as a concept, is somehow cosmically called on the carpet for its devotion to aesthetics. As if the devastating floods (it has flooded periodically throughout history) are functioning as a blood sacrifice in exchange for the art, which is a little overwrought for my taste. I would rather see someone state that as a fact (hey, whatever) than to keep returning to worry over it.

Grade: B-
Recommended: Again, this would not work very well as an introduction to Florence or the flood of 1966. But, if you have had the pleasure of spending time in Florence and enjoy visiting its museums and churches, then you will find a lot of fun facts and anecdotes to fuss over.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very similar to Florence after the 1966 flood: muddy. There just seems like there's too much that the author is trying to achieve-- tracing the city's history of floods in conjunction with the artists and literary milieu that inhabited it at the time; recounting the flood and the conflict of saving art versus people; providing a memoir of his own experiences in Florence; and providing short bios of a whole cast of characters. It was like in each chapter he was trying a new approach to his book and couldn't rein himself in. His writing style is also a little indulgent and he tries to connect events and people to an Icarus metaphor when he remembers to do so. Considering that this book is about art, history, a European city, literature, politics, and natural disasters-- all things that fascinate me-- it's quite a feat to make this reader beleaguered. I could have used a more straightforward narrative.

[Caterina Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book while I was in Florence, so that I could revisit all of the sites that Clark mentions. He balances well the history of floods in Florence from 1334 to the big contemporary one in 1966, which is his main focus, and his own life and coming of age in America in the mid 1960s. It is a mix of art history, Florentine history, flood history, and a personal memoir. If I had a gripe about it, it is that I think it could have had more illustrations (when art is your subject, images are key to people getting the full enjoyment of your text). Clark seems to have had access to David Lees's son & therefore access to the rights to really illustrate the text with more & with better images. I found myself googling Lees's images & using the Life magazine archive to see what Clark could have easily given me. Other than this, it was an enjoyable and engaging read.

[Kirsten McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the historical references, and the nod to the restoration effort, but found that the book didn't meet my expectations of more information about the flood, and the effect of the flood on Florence. That isn't the fault of the book, but more my own expectations.
The book is jam packed full of references to the damaged art, and its history prior to the flood, so if art is more your thing, then you will love the beautiful descriptions contained within these pages.
This book isn't so much about the flood of 1966, its more about the art, and the art history. Bear that in mind if you are going to read it.
Having said all that, it is a beautiful read. Almost more a story than a non fiction narrative.

[Elizabeth Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting exploration of the great flooding of Florence in 1966, its antecedents and lingering aftermath. Clark has done a good job of researching the history and connecting with people who lived through it. However, his narrative approach was so choppy that it was hard to find the flow and he seems undecided whether this is a personal story, or an objective one, sharing his own experiences and doubts and extrapolating those of others in a manner that makes for a disjointed read. In the end, I found it a very interesting collection of facts that could have been better curated.

[Jeanie Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. The author was able to make me experience lives that were forever changed by the devastating flood on the Arno River in 1966. I entered the restoration rooms were artisans and scientists labored to save works of art and manuscripts. I felt what it was like to be a mud angel, expending my energies to scrap mud off paintings or rescue mud encrusted volumes. Whereas more pictures or maps would have been great, the author painting the scenes with words so well that I could see it all unfold in my mind. This is an important work of history. The author interjected himself in the narrative a little more than I would've liked, but that was a small issue to me.

[Mel H · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject matter for this book was really, really interesting, but the writing style was quite dry and hard to get through. The author meanders through an endless series of tangents, making it long and tedious in places. When he does actually start talking about the flood, the way it was handled, and how the art was conserved and "saved", it's fascinating stuff.

I'm not sure I recommend this book, though I don't regret reading it. This is one where you could feel free to skip pages (or entire chapters).

[Peg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it hard to believe that this book could be such a bore considering the wealth of topic. It was like a blow-hard professor going on and on and everyone has tuned out and out. Didn't finish. Try the novel the Sixteen Pleasures for a better read!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots to think about as we prepare for our trip to Italy. Wasn't even aware there had been such a devastating flood in Florences in 1966.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A love letter to Florence

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Water, by Robert Clark, is a detailed account of the November 4, 1966 flood of the Arno River in Florence. The flooding killed at least 100 people, ruined over 6,000 businesses, and left thousands homeless. Additionally the flood, which rose 23 feet above Florence’s centro storico (historic center), also caused irreparable damage to the cultural patrimony of Florence. BILLIONS of pages of manuscripts and books were severely damaged or destroyed, in addition to the approximately 15,000 pieces of art ranging from Ghiberti’s Baptistry doors to Cimabue’s Crosofisso. Even today, almost 60 years after the flood, not all of the cultural artifacts have been conserved. The Crossofisso required five years after mud removal to dry out enough to allow for conservation.

Clark goes into the history of Florence mainly to provide background—after all, the Arno has flooded Florence at least 50 times since records were taken. Where the book shines, however, are the accounts from people—mainly artists and restorers—who lived in the city at the time. Whereas the author probably uses a couple of chapters to summarize the history of Florence, the bulk of the book goes into the days immediately prior to the Flood, the day of the Flood itself, and the immediate aftermath. With lots of attention from foreign countries, but little in the way of aid from their own leaders, Florentines got to work to salvage their cultural history even while losing homes and livelihoods. Most notably are the angoli dei fangs, or “mud angels,” who were primarily college students from other countries who were able to assist in the efforts. Many of these young people eventually made materials conservation their life’s work. After the mud angels flew home, however, the results of professional work—often stymied by government bureaucracy, differing interpretations of conservation theory, and lack of money—were less than impressive. Over 40 years after the Flood, many of the largest works had just been conserved.

There aren’t a lot of books that go into such detail about what happened after the international attention went elsewhere, and Robert Clark does an excellent job of describing what happened. If you love Florence, or have an interest in art conservation and restoration, this is a worthwhile read.

[Christina Gagliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really engaging writing. The first part is a whirlwind lesson in Florentine art history while the middle part is an interesting study of how the flood affected the people of Florence and caused an international outpouring of aid. The end wanders a bit as it tries to tie up the stories of various people and artwork in the book.

[D.J. Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Water is part memoir, part philosophy, a large part history, and wholly art appreciation. Dark Water deepened my interest in the Renaissance and my love affair with Florence, Italy. A favorite quote of mine from the book, and there are many, is “You should look, but you should also see. You should pay attention, render creation it’s due.”

[Cheryll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of a devastating flood of the Arno River in Florence, Italy in 1966. Many works of art destroyed and many books in the library. Also a story of the people and restoration of many damaged art works. A lot of artists I was not familiar with slowed my reading at the start but overall very interesting.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read after a trip to Venice. I learned of the flood when I took an art tour. I didn't fully understand how much damage occurred and the monumental effort it took to restore many of the works. Clark gives a very personal wrap-up to the book. I enjoyed his writing and will look for other books by him.

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to think of this book. It certainly wasn't what I expected. Parts of it were well written and very interesting. Others were boring, made me feel stupid, or were rather self-centered. I'm glad I read it, but...

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

1966 Flood in Florence--Santa Croce, et al. Vasari's "Lives of Artists." Review of Florentine art. Read for HIST 300

[Ornella Comucci-Gebhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but very bias. I was there.

[Louise Woodruff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating background on Florence and on the art saved after the 1966 flood.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. A different way to see a city, it's people, art and history .

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story about the 1966 flood, and also some insights about why art matters