The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) was created in the aftermath of the Second World War in response to widespread destruction and the urgent need to reconstruct cultural property. In 1956, a proposal was adopted at the 9th Session of the UNESCO General Conference in New Delhi to create an intergovernmental centre to study and improve restoration methods, and so ICCROM was born.
Following an agreement with the Italian government, the Centre was established in Rome in 1959. Dr. H.J. Plenderleith, the long-time Keeper of the Research Laboratory at the British Museum in London, was appointed its first Director. The Centre immediately created a worldwide network of experts and specialized institutions for conserving and restoring different types of cultural heritage. In close co-operation with UNESCO, the Centre participated in international campaigns and organized scientific missions to assist Member States. Early activities included the preservation of ancient tombs in the Nile Valley, restoration of mural paintings in the churches of Moldavia, development of the national conservation research centre in India, and protecting cultural heritage following floods or earthquakes in Guatemala, Italy and Montenegro.
In the early 1960s, the Centre organized its first courses in the conservation of historic towns and buildings in collaboration with the University of Rome. There followed other regular annual courses on the conservation of mural paintings organized jointly with the Istituto