In 1976 a series of powerful earthquakes devastated the region of Friuli, located in the northeast corner of Italy. The artistic patrimony of this area was seriously damaged, provoking major conservation problems of both emergency and long-term natures. In collaboration with Italian authorities, the Istituto Centrale del Restauro, Rome (ICR), and the International Centre for Conservation, Rome (ICCROM), American conservators have been active in a number of earthquake-related conservation projects. These include: surveys of and emergency first aid to damaged mural paintings; major treatments of damaged mural paintings; a survey of earthquake-displaced objects; and the creation and operation of a laboratory for the treatment of damaged polychromed sculpture. This paper outlines some of the special conservation problems created by earth quakes and describes a number of conservation efforts to date.