Montenegro celebrates European Heritage Award for Pacijenca Project – Safeguarding the Dobrota Lace Tradition 

On 25 September, the Pacijenca Project – Safeguarding the Dobrota Lace Tradition, a 2026 European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award winner, was celebrated with a moving event at St. Tryphon Cathedral in Kotor, Montenegro. “Pacijenca” is the second Montenegrin project to receive Europe’s top heritage award in nearly 25 years. The ceremony, held as part of the European Heritage Days, brought together national and municipal officials, representatives of cultural institutions, the lace-making community led by Nada Radović, and the wider public.

Led by Museums of Kotor, the Pacijenca Project was awarded in the Education, Training and Skills category for reviving the endangered skill of Dobrota needle lace-making through sustained teaching, public demonstrations and contemporary heritage interpretation. Its name comes from the Italian word for patience, “pazienza”.

The ceremony opened with the reading of a special message from the President of Montenegro, Mr. Jakov Milatović. “The European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award is a recognition for all of Montenegro, which, after almost a quarter of a century, has again found itself among the recipients of the most significant European award in the field of cultural heritage. (….) Dobrota lace cannot be viewed separately from Dobrota and the cultural landscape of Boka, just as historical ensembles cannot retain their full meaning without the customs, skills and people who give them life. That is precisely why the success of the “Pacijenca” project should be an example of how responsible work can ensure continuity between the heritage we have received and the heritage we will leave to the generations after us”, emphasised the President of Montenegro, in his congratulatory message (read the full text of the message in Montenegrin). 

The awards plaque was jointly presented to Dušica Ivetić, Director of Museums of Kotor, and Nada Radović by Europa Nostra’s Secretary General Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović. The bronze plaque was then symbolically passed from the hands of the eldest lace makers to the youngest. 

“Your award-winning project has transformed patience and careful craftsmanship into a human and cultural value at a time when so much of our lives is defined by speed, urgency and the race with artificial intelligence. […] In a world that is moving ever faster, “Pacijenca” invites us to be patient, to slow down, and, perhaps most importantly, to give our roots and traditions the attention and care they deserve,” said Europa Nostra’s Secretary General Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović (read the full text of the speech in Serbian and/or translated version in English).

“We see this Award, first and foremost, as recognition of Kotor and its rich cultural heritage, and of the women who have safeguarded this skill through the centuries,” highlighted Dušica Ivetić, Director of Museums of Kotor.

“A skill that was at risk of disappearing has now taken root,” emphasised Vladimir Jokić, Mayor of Kotor.

Dr. Tamara Vujović, Minister of Culture and Media of Montenegro, and Johann Sattler, European Union’s Ambassador to Montenegro, also addressed the audience. 

The ceremony featured a wonderful presentation/demonstration of Dobrota lace-making by both masters and children learning the first stitches.

The remarkable rehabilitation of St. Tryphon Cathedral in Kotor was the first Montenegrin project to receive a European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award in 2002.