Following the successful visit of the Mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel to the Historical Archive-Museum of the Society of Rijeka Studies based in Rome on 16 November 2017, the idea of ​​developing a permanent European cultural laboratory in Rijeka is gaining more and more ground.

The increasingly important development of the university hub in the Kvarner city leaves room for very important projects in this field; furthermore, Rijeka will be the European Capital of Culture 2020 with the theme “The Port of Diversity”, which will certainly highlight the role of the twentieth-century laboratory city in the north-eastern Adriatic quadrant and the sub-Danubian world.

As regards the Italian language and culture, we recall that the Fiume exiles were the first to create and develop a structured dialogue with the Croatian authorities and the leaders of the Italian minority in Croatia since 1990.

Regarding the Italian culture and language in Rijeka and Kvarner the main references in Italy are:

the Society of Fiume Studies and the Historical Archive Museum of Fiume with headquarters in Rome recognized and supported by Law 92/2004 *The Day of Remembrance* together with the IRCI of Trieste;

AFIM Association of Italian Fiume citizens in the World – Free Municipality of Fiume in Exile with headquarters in Padua;

the Fiume Clubs in Australia, South Africa, Latin America and North America and the Fiume Section of the National League of Trieste;

the River Office of the Vittoriale Foundation.

In Croatia:

the indigenous community of Italians of Fiume;

the Italian Union;

l'Edit – publishing house of Italians in Croatia and Slovenia;

the Italian High School of Fiume and other elementary schools where the teaching language is Italian;

Italian Drama at the Ivan Zajc Theatre;

the Department of Italian Studies of the University of Rijeka;

the Fiume section of the Dante Alighieri Society.

This would be a highly respected Rijeka hub that can produce ideas and projects inspired by European models of coexistence.

Source: Society of Fiuman Studies