Twenty years ago, on November 1977, ICCROM organized at Rome the first meeting on mosaic deterioration, which was particularly due to the encouragement of Claude Bassier. As most colleagues know, the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics was created on this occasion by a group of seven specialists participating in this meeting.
Twenty years later, we are still here and working on this subject. However, we can now afford to look back at the results our activity has produced so far: six conferences organized with the collaboration of ICCROM1 and six volumes in more than one language (English, French, Arabic), including the proceedings of the aforesaid conferences2. The titles of the conferences clearly show what kind of approach the Committee has tried to promote over the years: conservation in situ whenever possible, and only minimum intervention. Twenty years ago we began our battle to defend the integrity of the context to which a mosaic belongs against the then current practice of lifting, also generally used for detaching mural paintings.
Since then, ICCM's activity significantly influenced the change of mentality in preserving mosaics. The use of cement, at least in direct contact with the mosaic, has been gradually abandoned, while there is a return to traditional lime. At the same time, new conservation techniques have been introduced after being tested. At present, ICCM through more than 200 articles published in the proceedings of its conferences and in its Newsletter, remains an essential reference point for people working in the field of mosaic conservation.
Nevertheless, we must remember that all activities of ICCM are owed to the willingness of the institutions and people concerned: in fact, the Committee has no seat, no budget, no staff.
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For this reason, we should warmly thank all the colleagues who contributed to organizing the conferences, especially those from Spain (Palencia 1990), Portugal (Conimbriga 1993) and Cyprus (Nicosia 1997). Special mention must be made of the contribution given by the GCI to the conference in Cyprus; and of the support, both financial and intellectual, provided by the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (ICR) and the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) to several initiatives, the most recent of which is Progetto Forum itself.
From the very beginning, ICCROM has played a central role, providing a continuous support, according to the means available, especially in administrative and logistic matters. Recently (1993-1995), it has supported an initiative like Progetto Forum, a project that has changed our approach to mosaic preservation so that it now also includes documentation and awareness. In this way, the quantification of the mosaic surface, and the involvement of the public have now become part of preventive conservation.
In twenty years many things have changed and the method of intervention is no longer defined by the technicians alone. At the same time, the contribution to the conservation process by the public has proven fundamental for safeguarding mosaics. Consequences of this new global approach will continue to affect decision-makers too, in such a way as to oblige them to modify their management plans and administrative procedures, taking into consideration the needs of conservation
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