Sott'Acqua

A Tale of Two Cities Underwater

Providence, Rhode Island
November 9 - 17, 2024

Two cities on opposite sides of the Atlantic as well as the cultural spectrum. Two cities struck by natural disasters which left each of them underwater in the last century. Two cities celebrating a friendship pact established 25 years ago.

Providence

August 31, 1954

Summer came to an abrupt halt. Hurricane Carol arrived at breakneck speed leaving nineteen dead, many injured and the entire state devastated. Property damage was over $200 million, nearly 4000 homes and 2000 boats were destroyed or seriously damaged. The storm surge, driven by 90 mph winds up to 105 mph, gushed into the heart of the capital. Downtown Providence lay under 12 feet of water for the remainder of that terrible day.

Florence

November 4, 1966

Disaster struck one of the world's most historic cities and a repository of some of its greatest art. A low-pressure system had been stalled over Italy for six weeks. On the previous day it had begun to rain again. Nineteen inches fell in twenty-four hours. By two o'clock in the morning twenty thousand cubic feet of water per second was moving toward Florence. The famous museums of the city were filling with mud as the water moved at forty miles per hour at a height of twenty-four feet. Dozens of lives were lost, great works of art destroyed, and a million antiquarian books were submerged.

About

Splendor of Florence presents Sott’Acqua: A Tale of Two Cities Underwaterin Providence in November, 2024. A series of programs and events highlight the City of Providence, Rhode Island and the City of Florence, Italy and the floods that inundated both cities, the resulting recognition of the fragility of the world around us, the power of community awareness and restoration of cultural treasures, and how both cities are confronting climate change through mitigation, protection and preservation.The events celebrate the renewal of the Friendship Pact between Providence and Florence.

Events

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