4 November, 1966: The River Arno In The Museums Of Florence. Galleries, Monuments, Churches, Libraries, Archives, And Masterpieces Damaged By The Flood.

Florence: Bonechi Editore, 1967. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good +. 155 Pp + 2 Pp Index At End. Stated First Edition, June 1967. There Is A Paragraph Describing The Losses At The National Central Library, Situated Next To The River Arno (Apparently No Other Land Available In Italy). The Library Was Founded In 1714 When Scholar Antonio Magliabechi Bequeathed His Entire Collection Of Books, Encompassing Approximately 30,000 Volumes, To The City Of Florence. By 1743, It Was Required That A Copy Of Every Work Published In Tuscany Be Submitted To The Library. Originally Known As The Magliabechiana, The Library Was Opened To The Public In 1747. Its Holdings Were Combined With Those Of The Biblioteca Palatina Lorenese In 1861, And By 1885, The Library Had Been Renamed As The National Central Library Of Florence, Or The Bncf. Since 1870, The Library Has Collected Copies Of All Italian Publications. Since 1935, The Collections Have Been Housed In A Building Designed By Cesare Bazzani And V. Mazzei, Located Along The Arno River In The Quarter Of Santa Croce. Before This, They Were Found In Various Rooms Belonging To The Uffizi Gallery. The National Library System (Sbn), Located In The Bncf, Is Responsible For The Automation Of Library Services And The Indexing Of National Holdings. The Major Flood Of The Arno River In 1966 Damaged Nearly One-Third Of The Library's Holdings, Most Notably The Loss Of Its Periodicals And Posters Of Italy 1860-1966, 21,000 Items, And Palatine (50,000 Items) And Magliabechi (1000 Volumes) Collections, Also The Modern Literature Collection Of 60,000 Volumes And The Miscellaneous Collection Of 400,000 Volumes. The Restoration Center Was Subsequently Established And May Be Credited With Saving Many Of These Priceless Artifacts. However, Much Work Remains To Be Done And Some Items Are Forever Lost. The Library Remains Sensibly Located Next To The Arno River, In Case Of A Fire.