Welcome

Welcome On behalf of the Rector Magnificus of the University of Florence and of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, it is a great pleasureto welcome all the participants to the First International Symposiumon the Preventionof Allergic Diseases.The City of Florence representsa superb locale for such a meeting becausesince the time of the Renaissance, Florence has been an active center for the integration and promotion of different cultures and becausethe University has served the Allergology and Clinical Immunology community at the highest scientific level. The University is represented here by my distinguished colleague and friend, ProfessorMario Ricci. It is also fitting that this Symposium is cosponsoredby the World Health Organization becauseallergic diseases

involve so many socioeconomic, epidemiologic, and environmental factors that they are of worldwide importance. In this regard I take special pleasurein noting that WHO is representedby my friend, Dr. Giorgio Torrigiani, a former fellow of this University. In closing I wish to point out that the Palazzo Vecchio, where the opening ceremony is being held, serves as the heart beat and central nucleus of the city of Florence, synthesizing all of its historical, political, cultural, and artistic qualities, therefore offering this international meeting an appropriateplace to begin. Professor Giovanni E. Orlandini, M.D. Vice Dean and Professor, Medical Faculty University of Florence

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