A rare screening of Franco Zeffirelli's only documentary film--a heartfelt call to action showing the effects of the 1966 flood that devastated Florence, Italy, and rallied art lovers worldwide--will be the centerpiece of a program hosted by the University of Maryland Libraries and the National Gallery of Art.

Florence: Days of Destruction will be shown at the National Gallery of Art, 4th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., on Saturday, November 5, at 3:30 p.m. The event marks the 45th anniversary of the flood.

Produced by the famed Italian director in the weeks following the flood, the documentary urged support to help rescue Italian works of art. Actor Richard Burton, who was working in Rome as the disaster unfolded, narrated and appeared in the film and appealed for aid.

The University of Maryland Libraries hold the only known copy of the English-language version of the film in the United States. RAI, the national Italian radio and television company, makes the black-and-white Italian version available on its website. (read more: http://www.lib.umd.edu/Zeffirellifilm.html)