The ICRPC presents the book “La herencia envenenada”

The ICRPC presents the book “La herencia envenenada”

The publication contains the first conclusions of the Iguemus project, an investigation that marks the traceability of artistic objects that the Republic saved and the Franco regime did not return

More than thirty people attended yesterday the presentation of the book “The Poisoned Heritage. The journey of artistic, archaeological and scientific collections in Catalonia after the Civil War”. The publication, published by Tirant Humaninades, contains the first conclusions of the Iguemus project, one of the most outstanding projects of the Catalan Institute for Research in Cultural Heritage (ICRPC). This investigation, which is still ongoing, marks the traceability of artistic and heritage objects that the Republic saved and the Franco regime did not return to their owners. According to the first advances of the ICRPC, most Catalan museums have pieces of this nature.

The event was held at the headquarters of the Institut Amatller d'Art Hispànic, in Barcelona, ??and its director, Marc Sureda, was in charge of welcoming all attendees, recalling the importance of the Iguemus project. A round table was then held with the two editors of the book (the director of the ICRPC, Gemma Domènech, and the researcher of the same center, Eduard Caballé) and some of the authors: Xavier Ulled, technical director of the Observatory of the Audiences of the Cultural Heritage of Catalonia and researcher at the ICRPC; Joan Bellsolell, art historian and documentalist at the ICRPC; Carme Berlabé, art historian and former curator of the Museum of Lleida and Santos M. Mateos, professor at the University of Vic

The speakers explained some of the episodes of that time such as the role of the National Artistic Heritage Defense Service (SPDAN); the safeguarding of science collections or specific cases such as the seizure and return of artistic assets from the Marquisate of Santa Maria de Barberà and Manresa, among others. They all also agreed on the importance of the Iguemus project, which must serve to contribute to the preservation of historical memory.