This morning when I opened the persiane (shutters) of the windows that face the Arno, I saw that it was gonfio (full). The sometimes slow-moving Arno was flowing steadily and quickly with muddy water. It was beautiful to hear the water rushing by. I kept my eyes glued on the mesmerizing Arno and watched the odd tree trunk floating by as well. Last Friday they opened up one of the dighe (dams) and the water seemed quite high. I took pictures, but at night it was difficult to make out how gonfio the Arno was.
As soon as I could, I went outside to the Ponte alle Grazie to take some pictures of the Arno in the cloudy, but not so cold morning. Another guy was walking along the river as well taking pictures on both sides of the ponte (bridge). When I looked toward San Niccolò, I noticed that the makeshift spiaggia (beach) that was set up this summer was full of water too.
I noticed that the area where the Società Canottieri di Firenze is located along the Arno below the Museo di Storia della Scienza (Museum of the History of Science) was completely inundated. This last summer, I remember seeing the grassy area at the end of a narrow road where flowers blossomed. And today, it has disappeared completely.
I also heard this morning that the water has already surpassed the primo livello di guardia agli Uffizi (first high water mark at the Uffizi), which is 3 meters. There is no reason for alarm, but I have been keeping an eye on the Arno all day from our apartment.
Share your comments for this blog post on the Living in Florence's Facebook page. Grazie!