In what is expected to be the first of many art and cultural exchanges, students from St. Augustine’s sister city, Aviles, Spain, spent part of the summer restoring murals in Flagler College’s historic dining hall.

The students were from the Aviles School of Art, and the restoration marked the start of a relationship between Flagler and the Spanish school.

Maria Sedano, head of the painting restoration department in Aviles, oversaw the technical work of six students. She said they’ve all had about three years of education and many have recently completed degrees in art restoration.

The dining hall’s murals — which are more than a century old — had minor damage caused by paint peeling away from the plaster beneath. The dining hall is part of the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, which was completed in 1888 by Henry Flagler and is today a National Historic Landmark.

Don Martin, Flagler art and design professor, said the murals haven’t been touched up for almost a decade. The first major restoration was done in the 1980s.

“We thought this was something our art department does not offer, and it would establish a mutually beneficial experience,” Martin said. “The city and the college wanted
to establish cultural exchanges … Next summer we hope to have a relationship with their graphic design program.”

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