Today we take you to Tuscany, to a place that is part of our country’s history—not only for the treasures it holds, but for an event that, in the 1960s, left a lasting mark on the memory of Italians.
We are at the National Central Library of Florence, just a few steps from the banks of the Arno River, which overflowed on the morning of November 4th, 1966. Within hours, the floodwaters inundated the ground floor and basements of the Library, covering ancient texts and manuscripts, newspapers and period magazines in mud. Among the various categories affected, over one million volumes were damaged.

The photographs capturing the volunteers who spontaneously arrived in the following days, forming a long human chain to save the books by passing them hand to hand, are still striking today.

Innovative techniques for book cleaning and restoration were developed, creating entirely new operational methodologies.

But what does this “piece of history” have to do with PASO?
The EVAC system has recently been installed and, in collaboration with Studio Tecnico Ermini in Florence, we developed a project that includes two types of EN 54-24 certified speaker units. The 100 W C7200-EN sound columns, ideal for reverberant environments, feature an elegant and functional design and were used in the main areas such as atriums and reading rooms.

The 6 W C48/6-2EN sound projectors, with their bi-directional design, were optimized for the long corridors of the historic building.

The system architecture is managed by the CR8506-V controller, powered by PMD Series digital amplifiers and operated via the TSB8500-V touchscreen microphone station (all EN 54-16 certified).