Nearly 40 Florida State University alumni who helped rescue priceless books, manuscripts and works of art from a devastating flood in Florence, Italy, 60 years ago returned to Tallahassee on Nov. 4 to mark the anniversary of an experience that helped shape FSU’s international education legacy.
As members of FSU’s inaugural program in Florence, the students helped lay the foundation for what would become the FSU Florence Study Center and earned the enduring nickname “gli angeli del fango,” or “Mud Angels.”
“Welcome home, Mud Angels,” FSU President Richard McCullough told the group during a gathering at the Student Union.
The idea for a study abroad program in Florence emerged during the FSU Flying High Circus’ 1964 European tour, when Dean of Students Roscoe “Ross” Oglesby envisioned teaching the humanities in the birthplace of the Renaissance. Two years later, English professor Gene Tanzy led the inaugural eight-month program, bringing 120 students and seven other faculty members to Florence. Initially conceived for FSU students, the program was expanded to include students from the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, creating a model for study abroad programs across the state.
During the first few months in Florence, students completed art history assignments at the Uffizi, read Dante’s “Inferno” in Italian and picnicked in Fiesole.
Then, on Nov. 4, 1966, disaster struck. Relentless rains filled the Arno River until it overflowed its banks, inundating Florence with as much as 22 feet of water. The flood killed 35 people and damaged or destroyed millions of works of art and rare books.
Rather than return home, the students and faculty joined Florentines and volunteers from around the world in the recovery effort, forming human chains to pass waterlogged books and manuscripts from muddy hand to muddy hand.
The Mud Angels marked the anniversary with a daylong reunion on FSU’s campus, starting with a tour of Doak S. Campbell Stadium and followed by a viewing of the “Vires, Artes, Mores” statues in the Student Union. Representing FSU’s values of strength, skill and character, the three bronze statues were cast from the same molds as those originally created for FSU Florence in 2021 by artist and FSU art history professor Alan Pascuzzi.
McCullough addressed the Mud Angels during the viewing and recognized Mud Angel and FSU alumna Margie Thompson for her longtime role in keeping the group connected and helping organize the reunion.
“The bonds you formed through that experience have lasted a lifetime, and on top of that, you created an amazing legacy,” McCullough said. “You are pioneers who have helped shape FSU’s international education tradition that thousands of Seminoles have enjoyed.”
Nancy De Grummond, the M. Lynette Thompson Professor of Classics and former director of the Archaeology in Tuscany program, also shared the history and symbolism of Vires, Artes, Mores and the Latin inscriptions she wrote for the statues.
Other activities connected the Mud Angels’ past with present-day approaches to preservation, including a presentation on technological innovation in museums by Paul Marty, associate vice provost for Innovation, and a visit to the Heritage Museum, where Mud Angels explored materials from the Mud Angels Collection maintained by FSU Libraries Special Collections and Archives.
The celebration culminated with a banquet at the Alumni Association Ballroom. Mud Angels and members of the inaugural Florence class, Rick Fritz and Esta Tishgart, served as the program’s emcees. Fritz met his wife, Judy, during that inaugural program in Florence. They’ve been married since 1968.
“There’s definitely a crown on the top of Florida State University, but one of the jewels in that crown is that we have a permanent study center in Firenze,” he said.
Fritz delivered welcoming remarks and introduced a musical performance of Italian arias by opera singer Emily Langford Johnson, the daughter of Mud Angels Chuck and Carolyn Johnson, accompanied by FSU doctoral student Yiyang Mu on piano. The Johnsons married at the Palazzo Vecchio between their arrival in Florence and the flood.
During the banquet, FSU Provost James Clark reflected on the lasting significance of the Mud Angels’ experience.
“Some of our most impactful learning takes place when we encounter something that we never expected or planned,” he said. “I can’t think of a better example than the experience of you students who arrived in Florence in the fall of 1966.”
Louisa Blenman, executive director of International Programs, which operates FSU Florence, highlighted the growth of FSU’s international education offerings since that inaugural class. Today, FSU is the No. 1 public university in the nation for long-term study abroad, with FSU Florence serving more than 600 students annually in a restored Renaissance palace just steps from the Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery and Piazza della Signoria.
“We did not get here by accident,” Blenman said. “We stand on your shoulders. Your courage, resilience and character form the DNA of our programs.”
At the heart of FSU Florence is the Atrium of Honor, a commemorative display preserving the history and legacy of the Mud Angels through photographs, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia, including an honor roll bearing the names of the 1966-67 class.
For more information about International Programs, visit international.fsu.edu. To learn more about FSU’s global presence, visit global.fsu.edu.