FLORENCE, ITALY – A wave of tornado-force winds and heavy rains pelted the city of Florence and parts of Tuscany today, Friday september 19, 2014. It leaved a trail of injuries, uprooted trees, and damaged buildings in its wake.
Florence’s Uffizi Gallery reopened after being shut down for damage checks after sudden heavy rains and hail caused flash floods in the Tuscan city and surrounding areas. The city’s other museums including those of Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Davanzati, and San Marco were also shut down for damage checks, officials said. Rain leaked into various upper rooms of Florence’s town hall, the 14th-century Palazzo Vecchio, flooding the bookshop located on the ground floor.
Tornado-force winds ripped through the windows of the 15th-century Sagrestia Vecchia (Old Sacristy), which was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and paid for by the Medici family, and which is attached to the San Lorenzo basilica.
The rain damaged furnishings inside the sacristy, church sources said. In a village near Florence, a mother and daughter were treated after a tree crushed their parked car, leaving them untouched but in a state of shock.
Five people were injured when part of a school near the town of Empoli, firefighters were hard at work in the city of Pisa and surrounding areas. Rain and wind also damaged homes and businesses in and around Lucca, authorities said.
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We were having a leisurely lunch outside, when the skies became increasingly dark. At one point we said we need to head in side and within 30 seconds the heavens opened up. The article mentioned rain, but where we were it was hail and alot of it. For the rest of our visit, people, both travelers and residents would ask where were you when the storm hit.