Students to Attend Conference in Italy About the Florence Flood

“On Friday, November 4, 1966, after a month of heavy rain, the Arno River overflowed its banks, flooding the city of Florence and causing incalculable damage to life, property, and cultural patrimony. Now known as “l’Alluvione,” the Florence Flood revolutionized the field of art restoration as no other single event.”

This is the introductory paragraph on the website for the symposium Conservation Legacies of l’Alluvione: A Symposium Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Florence Flood. The symposium will take place in Florence November 10 at the Villa la Pietra and November 11 at Palazzo Vecchio.

Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner, Professor of Art Conservation and Adjunct Paintings Conservator, Winterthur Museum, along with three second-year Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation paintings majors, Amber Kerr-Allison, Lauren Cox, and Kristin de Ghetaldi will attend this symposium. While in Florence they will each also interview two conference speakers who were rescue workers in Florence following the flood. These interviews will be recorded for the Florence Flood Archive and the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) oral history archive.

While at Winterthur this year Amber, Lauren and Kristin will each treat a painting from Beauvoir damaged by Hurricane Katrina as a part of their second-year curriculum. (In the image above Amber Kerr-Allison can be seen with all 3 paintings) Having the opportunity to attend the Conservation Legacies of l’Alluvione symposium and hear the stories of those that have treated objects damaged during the Florence Flood 40 years ago will be especially meaningful as they aid in the preservation of Katrina damaged objects.