Do you know that in Liège, Belgium, there is the Beuren mountain? A staircase of 374 steps, with an inclination of 30 % which is in the top 10 of the most extraordinary staircases in the world?

Our little Beuren, the “Painters-Euro-Qualif: painters restore their know-how” project has just reached a new level with the fifth transnational meeting which took place at IFAPME in Liège, the third international training site carried out at the AWAP Heritage Crafts Center at the Paix Dieu Abbey in Amay and a dissemination event which focused on our latest activities.

Here is a little recap of this experience so enriching and fruitful.

Lime in front!!!

The third training site for this project – after La Touche and Sienne – took place during the last two weeks of May at the Abbaye de la Paix Dieu, a Cistercian abbey of the female order founded in Amay in the 13th century.

Our site was dedicated to several techniques of lime coatings and paints – a natural material which is experiencing a resurgence in popularity – to imitate typical designs of the 18th century. In order to construct a grisaille trompe l'oeil frieze and a sgraffito frieze, we chose a garland of laurel leaves which embraces a rosette painted in low relief. We also created a relief in imitation marble, also in lime, surrounded by false moldings. Finally, we applied gilding details, a striking art!

International training camps are an experimental system set up as part of this project: a collective space for the exchange of know-how, artisanal traditions, and feelings between professionals and trainees from different countries and different generations. An opportunity to learn outside the classroom, to find solutions as a team, and above all, to share everyday life.

It's a laboratory for training : from the school sites, the training centers can define the skills necessary to become a heritage painter. It is not only about technical skills but also soft skills such as: communicating about what we do, managing a team and the stages of work, creating a fulfilling professional environment.

Video summary of the international training camp at the Abbaye de la Paix-Dieu:

The fifth transnational meeting in Liège

L'IFAPME Liège welcomed representatives of IFAPME Charleroi, Scuola Edile de Siena, IDEC Piraeus, the Center des Métiers du Patrimoine Paix Dieu d’Amay and Artemisia de Paris for three intense days to the fifth transnational meeting of partners of the Erasmus+ Painters-Euro-Qualif project.

It was an opportunity to discuss the progress of the project, in particular, the skills framework for built heritage painters and the upcoming international skills assessment sessions, which provide a standardized framework for this training in Europe.

We took the opportunity to visit the various IFAPME training centers in the region: the Multidisciplinary Training Center in Liège and the Construform in Grace-Hollogne specializing in construction with high environmental value.

Face-to-face meetings are more productive because we dedicate quality time to working together, with the opportunity to understand local working conditions and to consider new aspects for this project or others!

Broadcast event at

Heritage Trades Center

Peace God in Amay

During the dissemination event, which took place on May 31 in the restored attic of the Quartier des Hôtes de la Paix Dieu at the AWAP Paix Dieu Heritage Trades Center, we presented the results of the project, as well as the work carried out during the training site the previous week, as well as an assessment of the restoration carried out at the Palazzo Piccolomini in Siena during the second international training site. It was an open day where we were able to discuss with the participants about the experience on site and the training of heritage painters.

It was an open day where we were able to discuss with the participants about the experience on site and the training of heritage painters.