Heavy rain; water in the Uffizi on the display case of a Caravaggio

A violent storm that hit Florence, with over 45 millimetres of rain falling in the space of an hour, caused moments of concern for the artworks housed in the Uffizi Gallery. The heavy rain seeped into the museum, reaching the skylight of a room housing seven 17th-century paintings, including Caravaggio’s ‘Bacchus’, which remained unharmed, protected by a glass case that shielded it from the splashes. ‘Following the necessary checks,’ the museum has stated, ‘no damage was found to any of the works’. The room will reopen tomorrow morning.

It was Tuscany, along with Friuli, Lombardy and Marche, that was the region hardest hit by the bad weather, with flooding in underpasses and on lower-lying ground, landslides and numerous fallen trees. According to forecasts, the storm front will also extend to the southern regions on Friday. The Civil Protection Agency has issued a yellow alert across the whole of Lombardy, the Marche, Umbria and Lazio, as well as parts of Tuscany, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Sicily and Sardinia.

The situation is difficult in Empoli, with widespread flooding in the historic centre, where the water has reached ten centimetres and the fire service has been busy rescuing motorists stranded in underpasses and tackling house fires caused by electrical short circuits in cellars. The water quickly flooded several shops, damaging stock and fittings and forcing businesses to close. The Empoli City Council explained that ‘up to 75mm of rain was recorded in one hour’. Similar problems, albeit on a smaller scale, were also reported in Massa, Carrara and Viareggio.

In Como, a violent storm during the night between Wednesday and Thursday caused several landslides and mudslides along some of the city’s main roads. Disruption and problems were caused by mud and debris along the railway line and at Como Camerlata station, leading to delays to train services. There were also problems in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Flooding was reported in the municipalities of Latisana, Marano Lagunare, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Aviano, Pordenone, Casarsa della Delizia, Trieste, Udine and Majano. Rain and wind have caused trees and branches to fall in the municipalities of Udine, Gorizia, San Giorgio di Nogaro, Grado and Trieste. The situation is similar in the Marche region, particularly in the provinces of Macerata and Ancona, with flooding in underpasses and fallen trees blocking the carriageway.