In recent years, funding for the conservation of cultural heritage has become increasingly difficult to obtain, and this trend shows no sign of changing significantly in the foreseeable future. The twelfth triennial meeting of the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics, held in Sardinia in October 2014, focused on the theme of cost, broadly considered, relating specifically to the preservation and presentation of the world's mosaic heritage.

This illustrated volume provides a comprehensive record of the conference. The volumes sixty-seven papers and posters, comprising contributions from more than one hundred leading experts in the field, reflect the conference's principal themes: cost, methods of survey and documentation, conservation and management, education and training, backing materials and techniques, presentation and display, and case studies. Papers are presented either in English, French, or Italian; there are abstracts in English and either French or Italian for all entries.

Jeanne Marie Teutonico is associate director of programs at the Getty Conservation Institute and coeditor of Management Planning for Archaeological Sites and Managing Change: Sustainable Approaches to the Conservation of the Built Environment. Leslie Friedman is a project specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute. Aïcha Ben Abed is former head of monuments and sites at the Institut National du Patrimoine of Tunisia, author of Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa, and editor of Stories in Stone: Conserving Mosaics of Roman Africa. Roberto Nardi is president of the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics.