In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a large piece of cornice broke off from a building in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio, at the height of the newspaper kiosk, crashing to the ground.
«Luckily it didn’t happen last night.and – says Simone Scavullo, president of the Citizens for Florence committee – The square was full of people who frequent the neighborhood’s clubs, it could have been a tragedy”.
Firefighters on site to secure the area. There are no injuries.
Many curious people took pictures of the detached cornice. Daniele Marchionni, administrator of the condominium at number 1 affected by the collapse, explains that «the last intervention on the facade dates back to twelve years ago, it was therefore recent. The firefighters told me that no infiltrations were found.” Marchionni says that “the causes of the collapse of the reed bed are still to be ascertained. The top floor is being renovated, but it cannot be said that there are any connections with the damage.”
The one who was grazed by the debris was Isabella Bondi, the newsagent of the square: “It happened at 7:20 this morning. I was checking the window behind the kiosk, to arrange some magazines, when I felt it collapse on me like an avalanche. A roar, then lots and lots of dust.” The newsagent suffered some nasty scratches on his right arm, but he was very scared: “Ten centimeters and I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale. I still have debris in my hair.”
Several residents and shopkeepers in the square rushed to help the newsagent and show her solidarity. Kisses, hugs, pats on the back. A bar brought her a caffè latte. «I would have also gladly drunk a grappa»the newsagent joked to some residents of the neighborhood, still with the ice pack on his arm. He will close the kiosk for today and go to the emergency room to have the injury reported: “We’ll see how to organize ourselves with the insurance. This lost day probably won’t be reimbursed to me.”
Firefighters are operating under earthquake conditions. A firefighter explains that the building is “cell-based, meaning you can only enter and exit with a helmet.” Operations will be carried out with special equipment such as a bridge crane to eliminate the still unsafe parts of the cornice. Once the area is secured, access to number 1 and the area around the newsstand will be cleared. It shouldn’t take very long.
