Gaël de Guichen, Special Advisor to the Director General of ICCROM, received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts from His Majesty the King of Spain on 2 December at a ceremony in Seville, Spain.
This annual award recognizes individuals for their outstanding service in developing and disseminating art and culture or for the conservation of national heritage.
De Guichen received the medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the research programme on preventive conservation and promotion of the Cave of Altamira, which is classified as a World Heritage site.
As Director of this research programme, over a period of 24 months Gaël de Guichen coordinated a team of more than 60 specialists from different Spanish scientific and cultural institutions. An outcome of this intense collaboration was the reopening of this cave to limited and controlled visits, as the cave had been temporarily closed since 2002. The research permitted the creation of a preventive conservation plan for this unique site. This plan has been in effect over the past year and will provide a basis for conservation and management decisions at the cave in coming years.