The winners of the 24th international literary competition "Mailing List Histria" have been announced. This valuable initiative is dedicated to students of Italian-language schools in Slovenia and Croatia, as well as to students studying Italian as a foreign language in the former Yugoslavia.

The awards ceremony will take place in Fažana on Saturday, November 7th, with the collaboration of the local Italian community. Various organizations and associations support the activities of the Mailing List Histria association and contribute to the competition prizes:

Association of Dalmatians Italians in the World – Free Municipality of Zadar in Exile

Association of Italian Fiume People in the World – Free Municipality of Fiume in Exile

Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile

National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia: Provincial Committees of Gorizia, Rome, and Turin

Association for the Culture of Fiume, Istria and Dalmatia in Lazio

Istrian-Venetian Istria Cultural Circle of Trieste

Fameia Gallesanesa with the newspaper Gente di Gallesano

Ruvignisa Family

Istria Region

Dante Alighieri Society: Gorizia Committee

Italian Union

This year, a total of 191 submissions were received, with 270 students participating; 32 schools, 6 Italian Communities, and a total of 68 teachers participated. Seventeen students submitted works in both the individual and group essay categories, while 14 participated with both their schools and their Italian Communities.

– from elementary school 144 topics: 130 individual projects and 14 group projects

– from high school 44 topics: all individual work, no group work

– in addition, 3 group works arrived with drawings by the little ones from the nursery school, out of competition

Dalmatia participated with 39 works, with a significant participation from Montenegro:
– 4 themes from Zara
– 2 themes from Korčula
– 7 themes from Kotor
– 3 themes from Risano
– 2 themes from Teodo
– 5 themes from Sutomore
– 4 themes from Antivari
– 5 themes from Antivari Vecchia
– 3 themes from Podgorica
– 4 themes from Nikšić

The schools with the highest number of essays submitted are:

For Elementary School:
– SEI “Bernardo Benussi” of Rovinj with the peripheral school of Valle with 46 themes – SEI “Galileo Galilei” of Umag with the peripheral school of Bassania with 34 themes
Other Elementary Schools that participated:
– SEI “Edmondo De Amicis” of Buie – SEI “Edmondo De Amicis” peripheral school of Momiano
– SE of Dignano, with two sections, Italian and Croatian
– YOU ARE “Giuseppina Martinuzzi” from Pola
– SEI “Giuseppina Martinuzzi” suburban school in Gallesano – SEI “Belvedere” in Fiume
– SIX “Mulberries” from Fiume
– SE “Kruno Krstić” from Zadar
– SE “Njegoš”, from Cattaro/Kotor, Montenegro
– SE “Veljko Drobnjaković”, from Risano/Risan, Kotor/Kotor, Montenegro
– HE “Drago Milović” from Tivat/Tivat, Montenegro
– SE “Kekec” from Sutomore, Bar/Bar, Montenegro
– HE “Blažo Jokov Orlandić” from Bar/Bar, Montenegro
– SE “Srbija” from Old Bar, Bar, Montenegro
– HE “Savo Pejanović” from Podgorica, Montenegro
– SE “Vuk Karadzić” from Podgorica, Montenegro
– SE “Luka Simonović” from Nikšić, Montenegro
– HE “Milija Nikčević” from Nikšić, Montenegro

Also participating out of competition were:
– Italian Kindergarten “Naridola” on the outskirts of Valle
– Italian Community of Visinada, with children from the Nursery School
– Italian Nursery School “Pinocchio” of Zadar

For High Schools:
– SMSI “Antonio Borme” of Rovinj with 11 themes
– SMSI “Dante Alighieri” of Pula with 10 themes
– SMSI of Fiume with 8 themes
Other High Schools that participated:
– SMSI “Leonardo da Vinci” from Buje
– SMS “Mate Balota” from Poreč
– SMS “Petra Šegedina” from Korčula
– Gymnasium of Kotor, Montenegro

6 Italian communities also participated in this edition of the competition:
– CI of Salvore
– CI of Cittanova
– CI of Visinada
– CI of Pazin
– CI of Valle
– CI of Dignano

101 prizes were awarded, and in total, including the Collective Prize, 104 works were awarded:
– 9 Official Awards of the “A” section – Mailing List Histria
– 3 Sympathy Awards, offered by the Histria Mailing List
– 9 Official Awards of the “B” section – Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World
– 3 Official Awards from the Association for Rijeka, Istrian and Dalmatian Culture in Lazio, in memory of our friend Gianclaudio de Angelini
– 3 Special Awards Association of Italian Fiume People in the World – Free Municipality of Fiume in Exile
– 3 Special Awards Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile
– 2 Special Awards National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, Provincial Committee of Gorizia
– 2 Special Awards National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, Provincial Committee of Rome
– 2 Special Awards National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, Provincial Committee of Turin
– 2 Special Prizes Istro-Veneta Istria Cultural Circle of Trieste
– 6 Special Famìa Ruvignisa Awards
– 1 Special Prize People of Gallesano
– 1st Special Prize Imprinting of Istria, in memory of our friend Roberto Stanich (themes in dialect)
– 5 Special Awards Istarska Županija – Istria Region
– 1st Istria Europa Special Prize, in memory of our friend Lino Vivoda
– 2 Special Prizes Dante Alighieri Society, Gorizia Committee
– 3 Special Awards On the Wings of the Bora, in the Lion's Roar, in memory of our friend Leonardo Bellaspiga (drawings)
– 2 Special Prizes Italian Union
– 2 Incentive Prizes (out of competition), offered by the Histria Mailing List
– 2 Dalmatia Incentive Awards in Croatia, offered by the Association of Dalmatian Italians in the World
– 2 Dalmatia Incentive Awards in Montenegro, offered by the Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World
– 8 Jury Awards, offered by the Mailing List Histria
– 3 Jury Prizes, offered by the Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile
– 6 Jury Awards, offered by Istarska Županija – Istria Region
– 5 Jury Awards, offered by the Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World
– 3 Libero Grubisich Awards, offered by the Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World
– 11 Giuseppe Gelcich Awards, offered by the Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World
– 68 Certificates for Teachers, in addition diplomas will be awarded to all winners

The following were not assigned:
– 1st Special Prize Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile,
Elementary (3 Jury Prizes were awarded)
– 3 Special Prizes Istrian Region, High School Groups, Schools with Italian as the language of instruction and Elementary School Groups, High School Groups, Schools with Croatian as the language of instruction (6 Jury Prizes were awarded)

The total prize pool reached is €10.550.

The judging committee of the 24th International Literary Competition “Mailing List Histria” 2026 is chaired by Maria Grazia Belci and is composed of the following members:

Elementary:
– Maria Grazia BELCI – Beinasco, Turin
– Eufemia Giuliana BUDICIN – Rome
– Giulia CNAPICH – Turin
– Ambretta MEDELIN – Rovinj, Croatia

Superiors:
– Rosanna BIASIOL BABIĆ – Vodnjan, Croatia
– Adriana IVANOV DANIELI – Padua
– Mauro MEREGHETTI – Cesano Boscone, Milan
– Marella PAPPALARDO – Orvieto, Terni

The Secretariat of the 24th International Literary Competition “Mailing List Histria” 2026 is coordinated by Walter Cnapich and is composed of the following members:
– Walter CNAPICH – Turin
– Serena ANTONELLI – Turin
– Nello BELCI – Turin
– Stefania MASTRATISI – Turin

Thanks to:
– Axel FAMIGLINI, founder of the Mailing List Histria – Cesenatico, Forlì-Cesena
– Giorgio VARISCO, for the Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World – Padua

Finally, a curiosity: two papers also arrived that could not participate because one essay was from a high school located in Italy and the other from an adult.

The complete list of winners can be found in this PDF: