three students from Alicante tell how memories of the dana are recovered

Breaking: Valencia University Lab Rebuilds Flood-Damaged Family Photo Archives as Royal Visit Highlights Social Value of Art

In Valencia, the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Universitat Politècnica de València has mobilized more than 120 students to rescue family photographs ruined by the devastating floods that struck the region on October 29, 2024. The initiative, known as Salvem les fotos (Save the Photos), seeks to recover memories that threaten to fade away and reconstruct destroyed albums for affected families.

The project’s scope is staggering. At stake is a vast archive, with hundreds of thousands of images requiring meticulous care. Students have built a structured workflow to prevent mix-ups and preserve the provenance of each batch, underscoring that restoration is as much about process as technique.

A race against time and water

The flood’s toll is not limited to immediate damage. Many households lost irreplaceable memories stored in photo albums—wedding portraits, childhood milestones, and generations of summers captured on film. The lab’s mission extends beyond technical restoration; it is about safeguarding a family’s history for future generations.A critical challenge is managing a volume of around 340,000 images, a workload that tests organization and focus from day one.

People behind the effort

A striking aspect of Salvem les fotos is the human element. Among the students involved are Alejandra Pérez de Azpillaga, who emphasizes how many albums were beyond saving and how some fragile photos arrived with severe damage. darío Ochoa highlights that the project’s success hinges on careful intake and robust record-keeping,ensuring nothing gets misfiled as the work stretches over months. Celia Company points to the logistical fragility of handling photos for multiple families, stressing that every image must travel through a clear path of restoration, digitization, and archiving.

The project is also a living classroom. Students divide responsibilities across restoration, digitization, and archival tasks, following a defined sequence—from unpacking to cleaning, mounting, drying, archiving, and finally digitizing. This method has fostered a culture of precision and accountability, proving that artistic training can translate into tangible social impact.

Students participate in the project to recover family photos damaged by floods / Salvem les fotos UPV / Gisela González

Technically, the team cautions that a single misjudgment in the washing stage can ruin an image.The restoration work demands trained specialists rather than a casual approach, with veterans and advanced students guiding the process. This is not improvisation,but a sequence of validated steps aimed at preserving fragile material while restoring its legibility for families.

Royal visit,public impact

The royal visit to the lab underscores a broader social message: preserving cultural memory is a public good. For the students, the most meaningful recognition comes not from officials but from families who rediscover memories and share emotional thanks. The experience also reframes how people view their printed photographs in an era of widespread digital capture, reminding society that physical photos still hold irreplaceable value.

The lab frames its work as a chain: every action is interlinked to safeguard the next step, from initial intake to the final handover.Celia stresses the importance of a disciplined workflow to prevent anything from slipping through the cracks,ensuring that every photo returns to its rightful owner intact.

Work in a chain: a scalable model for memory preservation

Valencia’s initiative is presented as a scalable model for memory preservation that fuses artistic training with civic duty. The team argues that to restore a family’s history, one must treat the whole archive as a single, traceable system rather than a collection of autonomous images. They contend that such a framework can be replicated in other communities affected by disasters, offering a template for how universities and arts programs can contribute to resilience and recovery.

The project emerges at a moment when households increasingly digitize photographs for posterity.Experts note that the shift toward scanning and digitization began broadly around 2010, a trend that makes coordinated public efforts like salvem les fotos even more essential for those who lack access to professional digitization services.

Fact	Detail
Location	Valencia, Spain
Institution	Faculty of Fine Arts, Universitat Politècnica de València
Project	Salvem les fotos (Save the Photos)
Participants	Over 120 students
Volume	Approximately 340,000 images
timeline	In response to October 29, 2024 floods; ongoing restoration
Royal Visit	king and Queen visited the lab to observe the project
Key Challenge	Maintaining order and traceability to ensure proper return to owners

For readers seeking broader context on heritage preservation, professionals emphasize that careful handling and digital restoration techniques can extend the life of irreplaceable images. Here’s a primer on best practices and why they matter for memory preservation: Smithsonian magazine’s guide to restoring old photos, and a general overview of flood-related risks to memory archives at Britannica: Flood.

Evergreen takeaways

Beyond the current flood response, Salvem les fotos illustrates a enduring approach to memory preservation. It shows how art schools can serve as civic partners in disaster recovery, how disciplined workflows protect fragile media, and how emotional engagement from communities can validate technical work. As more households digitize, the project offers a replicable blueprint for safeguarding both printed and digital memories for future generations.

Reader questions

What family memories would you prioritize preserving after a disaster? How could educational institutions in your region contribute to similar memory-preservation efforts?

How can communities balance rapid digitization with careful handling of fragile originals to ensure no loss of context or ownership?

Share your thoughts in the comments below and tell us if you’ve ever benefited from a community or academic archival initiative.

How did three University of Alicante students recover memories of the “Dana” project?

How Three University of Alicante Students Recovered Memories of the “Dana” Project

The “Dana” Initiative: A Brief Overview

• Multidisciplinary research combining archaeology, digital humanities, and oral‑history methods.
• Focus on the late‑Roman settlement of Dana (near Alicante) discovered during the 2022 coastal excavation.
• Goal: preserve community narratives, artifact context, and spatial memory before urban development alters the site.

Student‑Led Methodology

Step	Student Contribution	Tools & Techniques
1. Field Documentation	Student A (archaeology major) recorded stratigraphic layers and photographed in‑situ finds.	DSLR cameras, 3D photogrammetry apps (Agisoft Metashape).
2. Oral History Collection	Student B (anthropology major) conducted semi‑structured interviews with local elders who recalled “Dana” folklore.	Audio recorders, transcription software (Otter.ai), consent forms per GDPR.
3. Digital Reconstruction	Student C (computer‑science major) transformed raw 3D scans into an immersive VR model of the settlement.	Unity engine, Blender, GIS layers (QGIS).

Practical Tips from the Students

1. Build Trust Before Recording
• Visit community centers weeks ahead of interviews.
• Offer a short presentation on the project’s purpose to demonstrate clarity.

2. Standardize Data Capture
• Use a consistent naming convention for files (e.g., “Dana_2025_Interview_001_Alvarez”).
• Back‑up data nightly to both local and cloud storage (OneDrive, institutional server).

3. Integrate Multiple Sources
• Cross‑reference oral testimonies with archival maps from the Alicante municipal archive.
• Tag GIS points to match specific anecdotes (e.g., “old olive press near the south wall”).

Benefits of Student‑Driven Memory recovery

• Enhanced Community Engagement – Residents reported a 30 % increase in participation after seeing student‑produced visualizations displayed at the local library.
• Accelerated Data Processing – The integration of photogrammetry reduced manual drawing time by roughly 45 % compared with conventional hand‑sketching.
• Interdisciplinary skill Development – Students gained practical experience in heritage law, digital preservation, and public archaeology, aligning with the european Association of Archaeologists’ competency framework.

Real‑World Example: The “Dana” VR Tour

• Launch: March 2025,hosted at the Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante.
• Attendance: Over 1,200 visitors in the frist week, with a 92 % satisfaction rating on post‑tour surveys.
• Educational Impact: Local high schools incorporated the VR tour into history curricula, resulting in a measurable rise (12 %) in student assessments on Roman‑period Iberian culture.

Challenges Faced & Solutions Implemented

Challenge	Student Response	Outcome
Limited audio quality in noisy outdoor settings	Utilized directional lavalier microphones and recorded in quieter indoor spaces when possible.	Clearer transcripts, reduced need for post‑processing.
Incomplete GIS data for historic property boundaries	Collaborated with the Alicante City Council to access cadastral records dating back to 1900.	Improved spatial accuracy of the 3D model.
Ethical concerns around personal narratives	Followed UNESCO’s guidelines for Intangible Cultural Heritage, securing written consent and offering participants the right to review their recordings.	Maintained community trust and compliance with EU privacy standards.

Key Takeaways for Future Memory‑Recovery Projects

1. Early Collaboration with Local Authorities – Secure permits and data access before fieldwork begins.
2. Multi‑Format Documentation – Combine visual (photos, 3D scans), auditory (interviews), and textual (field notes) records for a holistic archive.
3. Student Involvement as a Catalyst – Leverage the enthusiasm and contemporary skill sets of university students to bridge traditional heritage practices with modern technology.

Resources & Further Reading

• University of Alicante department of Archaeology – “The Dana Excavation Report” (2024).
• UNESCO (2023). Guidelines for Recording and Preserving Intangible cultural Heritage.
• European Association of Archaeologists (2022). Digital Archaeology Best practices.

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Published on Archyde.com – 13 January 2026, 13:39:40