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Stable Relations. Earthquake Disasters and Internationalism in the Conservation Community, c. 1976
The article studies the effects of earthquake disasters in the international community of heritage conservators in the 1970s. I claim that seismic shocks were catalysts for internationalism and professional development in the discipline. Conservators travelled to disaster sites to assess damage and propose approaches to reconstruction, thereby strengthening its international cooperation with the transfer of expertise and support in conservation projects. In the 1970s, the discipline developed a framework for risk management which employed stochastic assessments of natural hazards and engineering procedures to preserve monuments against forces of nature. Since plate tectonics are an environmental factor beyond anyone’s control, conservators developed a new perspective on the responsibility of humans. They emphasized that loss of heritage was not caused by earthquakes but by the demolition of ruins afterwards. The article draws upon historical material by ICOMOS, ICCROM, and UNESCO with a focus on the 1976 earthquakes in Guatemala and Friuli (Northeast Italy).
