I am writing to thank you all for your interest in participating in the AIC2026 Midterm Meeting in Florence.
For us, organizing the convening was a great thrill but also a challenge. During the preparation of the event, several changes to the original plans became necessary as we received an unexpectedly large number of abstracts. The high scientific quality of the contributions pushed us to reorganize the program from the originally planned two into three parallel sessions. The number of registered participants grew from the anticipated 150 to nearly 200, representing all five continents.
Having such a high-quality, cross-disciplinary scientific program and large, wonderful audience made us deeply proud of what we had achieved and encouraged us to do our very best to welcome you and make your experience in Florence as enjoyable as possible. It was even more significant given the current international situation, in which wars, natural disasters and economic difficulties have discouraged people from travelling.
We sincerely wish to thank all of you, and the AIC Executive Committee, which supported us throughout these months of preparation. On behalf of the local organizers, I also wish to express our sincere gratitude to our three magnificent invited speakers: Marco Leona, Pietro Palladino and Roberta Piantavigna. They brought a breath of fresh air, both in terms of content and the way they presented their ideas, making the opening day a truly outstanding and intellectually stimulating experience.
A special thank you is also due to Prof. Maurizio De Vita, our local co-organizer, and to Prof. Susanna Caccia Gherardini, Director of the Department of Architecture at the University of Florence, for making the classrooms at the Santa Teresa complex available for the parallel sessions. The event would not have been possible without their generosity and that of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, who financially supported the convening as well as our sponsors, Konica Minolta and NCS. A special mention also goes to the Fotonomia Association, and in particular to Barbara Cattaneo and Eugenia Di Rocco, for their essential contribution to the organization of the conference.
We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to the directors and staff of the Museo di San Marco, the Museo Archeologico, the Museo Bardini and the Museo dell’Opificio delle Pietre Dure for their generous support, which gave our participants the opportunity to visit and discover some of the treasures of Florence.
A huge thank you goes to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make sure that the conference ran smoothly, without major problems. The people who made this possible are, in alphabetical order: Alessandra Banchelli, Lucia Becatti, Bianca Irene Carnesale, Sofia Ceccarelli, Sofia Colombera, Martina Palmieri, Silvia Parmeggiani, Francesco Pisani, Sirpa Salenius, Beatrice Sarti, Martina Sbrana, Lisa Vergelli and Arianna Wilcox.
Finally, all of this was made possible thanks to the constant presence and support of the Gruppo del Colore – Associazione Italiana Colore, and in particular Andrea Siniscalco (President), Alice Plutino (Treasurer and Vice-President) and Filippo Cherubini (Secretariat and Webmaster), who have truly been the driving force behind our work.
Thank you once again to all of you who joined us in Florence and contributed to making AIC2026 such a special event. We hope you enjoyed the conference, the discussions, the cultural program and, above all, the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with colleagues from around the world.
It was a real pleasure and an honor to welcome you to Florence.
