What comes in mind when you think of mosaics in Barcelona? Certainly Antonio Gaudi. But I was surprised when during the 13th ICCM conference we were shown the gems of mosaic conservation in Catalonia and there was NO Gaudi amongst them! Let me take you to these places: This is the Recinte Modernista Sant Pau. Build between 1902 and 1930 it became UNESCO World Heritage in 1997. This is a mosaic on a facade depicting one of the patrons of the hospital Sant Damia. The architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1850-1923) was one of the outstanding figures of Catalan Art Nouveau (Modernisme). For the decorations of the buildings mosaics were used everywhere using floral motives to bring nature into the buildings and to the hospital beds.   Another gem of art nouveau buildings richly decorated with mosaic and also stained glass works is the Palau da Musica. The Palau de la Música Catalana was built between 1905 and 1908  also by the modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner as a home for the choral society Orfeó Català. Most impressive …

Last week I attended an international conference on the conservation of mosaics in Barcelona. The organization that takes care of this cultural heritage is called ICCM – International Committee for Conservation of Mosaics. Every three years they are organizing a conference where specialists in mosaic conservation and policy makers in cultural heritage from all countries with a roman mosaic history are coming together to exchange their knowledge and expertise. This year it was the 40st anniversary of the organization. They achieved that the whole field now is working after certain standards in the conservation of ancient mosaics, that the group of conservators know of each other and can exchange experiences and that knowledge in the field was passed on and further developed in North African and middle eastern countries. In terms of numbers this Barcelona Conference clearly ranks well:  with  255 participants, while contributors from 35 countries shared their work through 48 paper presentations, 59 posters and 15 videos. Each of these overall achievements represents many communal and personal successes. The sessions dedicated to modern …