In Modigliana, Brisighella and Faenza the first black clouds appeared on the horizon at the end of April and the first rains fell between 20 April and 1 May, a day of celebration, which turned into the eve of the start of a disaster of centuries-old importance. They were the great floods that hit Romagna in May 2023: for all of Italy the symbolic date is May 16th. This is not the case for the people of Faenza and Modigliani who twice had to deal with the river flooding and landslides.
Endless rain
May 2, 2023 when the Lamone river broke its banks and the waters overwhelmed Borgo Durbecco. On May 5, with the first mud angels arriving from all over Italy to shovel, the tears of the displaced went around the world. We couldn’t wait to put dramatic days and nights behind us, yet the worst was yet to come. From May 6th, ten days of sun and clouds, in compliance with a perfect spring script, almost anticipated a week of uninterrupted rain: from 15 May Borgo Durbecco and some streets adjacent to the Lamone in Faenza were once again flooded. But this time it was the entire Romagna that ended up under water where landslides and floods caused fifteen deaths and more than 23 thousand displaced people in the Cesenate, Forlivese and Ravenna areas, from the hinterland down to the valley.
Roads covered in mud
In Faenza the flood, between the events of 2 and 16 May, threw a thousand residents out of their homes. In the aftermath of the first flood at the beginning of May, the streets of Borgo Durbecco were covered in mud and refrigerators, televisions, dishwashers, all to be thrown away, were piled up on street corners. Outside the Aristation music school, guitars, basses and keyboards were encrusted with slime and the same happened to the ceramics – the gold of Faenza – outside the shops. Household appliances, but also cars, motorbikes, and much more have been lost forever, and there is still no refund for residents.
Thousands more displaced
In Faenza, There are still around 1000 displaced people today. In fact, there are 463 active independent accommodation contributions registered by the municipality to help those who have not been able to return home since last May. Until a few weeks ago, the Hotel Cavallino, where they had sheltered around 250 displaced people, was still hosting around fifty residents. «Many people who are effectively displaced, or have lost their homes, live in other homes with the payment of the rent guaranteed by the commissioner structure, presided over by General Francesco Figliuolo», explains the mayor Massimo Isola. Others have found accommodation in public housing that was vacant: «The renovation works that were planned for the future have been accelerated» adds the mayor. In fact, hundreds of people are still displaced.
“We want a real reconstruction”
The one who remembers the dramatic hours of May 2nd with moving words is the mayor of Modigliana Jader Dardi. Modigliana it is a small town in the Romagna area of Faenza: it was surrounded by landslides and isolated for weeks. «This night, May 2, 2024, it rained. Nothing, I didn’t sleep, I got up several times and all the drama of those terrible days flashed before me. It’s an anniversary that doesn’t make me happy.” In Modigliana they 250 were displaced. “They have all returned, fortunately, but the emergency is far from over.” Many construction sites have started, funds have been allocated, also thanks to solidarity collections among the population, for the reconstruction of the bridge that connects the town center to one of the main road arteries that connect the municipality with Faenza. «We spent two million to make this territory safe again – explains Dardi – but now we need a big effort: not only funds but also workers to think about a real reconstruction. Studies, analyzes and projects to start again.”
