Rain infiltrates Uffizi Gallery in Florence as storms flood Tuscany and northern Italy

Infiltration at the Uffizi Gallery

A severe storm passing over Florence on Thursday, 17 September 2026, caused rainwater to leak inside the Uffizi Gallery. Over 45 millimetres of rain fell within 60 minutes across parts of the city, penetrating beneath a skylight in an exhibition room housing seven seventeenth-century paintings. Water droplets splashed onto the external glass case protecting Caravaggio's Bacchus, prompting museum staff to temporarily close the room and inspect the artworks. Technicians removed the painting to assess its condition and confirmed that neither Bacchus nor any other artwork in the hall suffered water damage. The museum announced that the room will reopen to visitors on Friday morning, while technical teams plan work to secure the overhead window frame.

Museum officials issued a statement after completing the inspection.

Following the necessary checks, no damage was found to any of the works.

In nearby Palazzo Pitti, heavy rainfall also reached the floors of the Galleria Palatina and the Galleria d'arte moderna, leading staff to restrict public access to several display areas.

Flash floods across Tuscany

The storm system brought intense precipitation to municipalities across Tuscany throughout Thursday afternoon. Weather stations recorded 45.5 millimetres of rain at the Boboli Gardens and 44.6 millimetres at the Orto Botanico within an hour, accompanied by wind gusts reaching 38.9 kilometres per hour. In Empoli, downpours delivered 43 millimetres in less than 30 minutes, leading to totals of 75 millimetres within an hour. Water levels in the town centre of Empoli reached 10 centimetres, entering storefronts, damaging commercial inventory, and forcing shop closures. In Torre del Lago, near Viareggio, a lightning strike near an elementary school disabled the electrical system, resulting in the evacuation of the building while classes were in session. Additional localised flooding occurred across Massa, Carrara, and Viareggio.

Disruptions across northern and central regions

Severe weather extended beyond Tuscany, affecting infrastructure in several northern and central Italian regions. In Liguria, a waterspout formed off the coast between Celle Ligure and Varazze, approaching beachfront establishments before turning seaward, while torrential rain transformed roads in Genoa into torrents that obstructed vehicular traffic. In Lombardy, an overnight storm in Como triggered landslides and mudslides along municipal roads, depositing mud and debris that caused train delays at Como Camerlata station. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, municipal crews responded to flooded streets and fallen branches across nine municipalities, including Trieste, Udine, Pordenone, and Lignano Sabbiadoro. The Marche region also recorded disruptions, with underpasses flooded and fallen trees blocking roads in the provinces of Macerata and Ancona.

Civil protection alerts and emergency response

Emergency services across central Italy expanded operations to manage storm damage and rescue stranded motorists. The Florence fire brigade command deployed four teams to Empoli and requested reinforcements from Prato, rescuing motorists trapped in submerged underpasses and attending to electrical fires in basements. Tuscany regional president Eugenio Giani announced an extension of the yellow alert for severe thunderstorms and hydrogeological risk until 20:00 on Friday, 18 September.

The national Civil Protection department issued yellow weather warnings covering Lombardy, Marche, Umbria, and Lazio, along with sectors of Tuscany, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Sicily, and Sardinia, as the weather front moves southward on Friday.