27 April. Fifty years ago, on 27 April 1957, the Director-General of UNESCO, Luther Evans, and the Italian Government signed a formal agreement in Paris for the establishment in Italy of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, then known as the 'Rome Centre'.

The Statutes came into force in 1958, after five States had adhered (Austria, Dominican Republic, Spain, Morocco, Poland), and in 1959 the centre was established in Rome.

Today, ICCROM, as the organization is now known, would like to offer its thanks to the Government of Italy for its wonderful support over the last half century and to acknowledge too our gratitude to the 119 countries that now constitute our Member States.

Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General

updated on: 18 December, 2008