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 citys greatest flood and its aftermath through the voices of its witnesses. Two American artists wade through the devastated beauty; aphotographer stows away on an army helicopter to witness the tragedy first-hand; a British mud angel spends a month scraping mold from the worlds masterpieces; and, through it all, an author asks why art matters so very much to us, even in the face of overwhelming disaster.From the Trade Paperback edition.