The vacation's over. Well not really considering at the completion of the project we have a week divided between Florence and Rome. But the preservation work at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Crespi d'Adda has begun. It started on Monday and will continue through the end of next week. The group of seven Ball State students has joined a group of six Milano de Politecnico students in the preservation work. I've taken to damage assessment of the hydroelectric power plant. The equipment inside the building is simply stunning.

For the most part I've been responsible for snapping photos to collage together to use to indicate the areas of damage. This process involved climbing an old, unstable ladder upwards of thirty feet to capture many photos of the interior elevation. The job certainly wasn't for the faint of heart. Tomorrow we get to use the infrared equipment to further assess the damage. That should be a blast.

Other students are working to create a master plan for the site, as well as, ideas for infill housing. Its a great group of international students bringing a variety of ideas and unique perspectives to the table. Introductory work at the end of last week centered upon the various preservation programs in each country which included Mexico, Brazil, Israel, Italy, and of course, the USA.

The site is in great condition and I look forward to the remaining time on the site. I'll have more detailed information in the future so stay tuned for that.

I've been in Italy one week and I've loved every minute of it. To give you a taste of what things were like over the past week, check out some photos, here.