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Salvem les Fotos: 160,000 Memories Recovered for Families Affected by the DANA

The Universitat de València project has restored nearly 160,000 photographs, transforming the Museu Comarcal de l’Horta Sud and Castell d’Alaquàs into key centers for emotional recovery.

Generic image of old photographs being restored.
IA

Generic image of old photographs being restored.

More than a year and a half after the DANA, the Universitat de València's ‘Salvem les Fotos’ project has returned nearly 160,000 photographs to families in l'Horta Sud, a crucial step for emotional recovery.

The recovery of the province of Valencia following the DANA is evident not only in the streets but also on an emotional level. The ‘Salvem les Fotos’ project, driven by the Universitat de València, has achieved a historic milestone by returning nearly 160,000 photographs full of memories to affected families. The main hubs for this solidarity initiative have been the Museu Comarcal de l’Horta Sud in Torrent and the Castell d’Alaquàs, which have become laboratories for emotional resilience.
José F. Cabanes, president of the Mancomunitat de l’Horta Sud and the Museu, highlighted the region's involvement: “The region has thrown itself into this project, which is very necessary to aid emotional recovery.” The Museu Comarcal Josep Ferris March has been the primary engine, recovering almost 150,000 photos for 217 families. Of these, 92,000 have been fully restored, 17,000 were returned untreated due to duplication, and unfortunately, 39,800 were lost due to irreversible water damage. Technicians continue to work on images from another 300 families.
The project's second center is located at the Castell d’Alaquàs, which has housed photographs from 198 families, successfully completing the archives for 27 of them (around 10,000 treated images). The success relies on strong municipal collaboration: Alaquàs provided the Castell, Torrent offered logistics and Civil Protection support, and Aldaia and Alfafar established local collection points.
The project's scale has necessitated significant investment. The Museu de l’Horta Sud has allocated a large portion of its budget (approximately 135,000 euros annually) thanks to support from the Mancomunitat (80%), the Torrent City Council (10%), the Fundació Horta Sud (5%), and Caixa Rural Torrent (5%). At the state level, the Spanish Government has contributed 363,000 euros from the Ministry of Labour for hiring restoration staff and 200,000 euros from the Ministry of Culture to the Fundació Horta Sud, which added 100,000 euros of its own funds. Recently, it was announced that the commissioner of the Generalitat Valenciana also plans to join the project with new funding.

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