The Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile has completed the packed schedule of events that marked the 2026 gathering held in the city of the Arena, a gathering that this year was marked by an increasingly close relationship with local institutions. In this regard, the welcome given by the municipal administration to the "guest fellow citizens" at the town hall was certainly significant.

Pula. For the first time, exiles were officially received at the Town Hall.

In the prestigious Temple of Augustus, an exhibition of Indian ink drawings by Leonardo Bellaspiga, an engineer from the Marche region who married Carmen Ursini, an exile from Polesine, was inaugurated in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Istria. Thanks to her, he discovered and was fascinated by the monuments and panoramas of the eastern Adriatic.

Leonardo Bellaspiga's art celebrates historical identity

The Politeama Ciscutti represents a cornerstone of contemporary cultural history in Polesano, a theater that has served as the backdrop not only for performances but also for significant events in the history of the Istrian capital. The Ciscutti Hall of the Istrian Popular Theater hosted Magazzino 18 , a performance performed in a remarkable and moving way by Dario Ciarloni with the CLEAT theater company. On the sidelines of the performance, the AIPI-LCPE awarded past president Graziella Cazzaniga the "Istria terra amata" award for her more than twenty years of dedication to the association.

Cristicchi's Magazzino 18 revived by Diego Ciarloni at the Teatro

In this sense, it is important that the civic theatre work with which Simone Cristicchi brought the story of the foibe and the exodus to life on stages across Italy has found new interpreters who help revive its message.

The event concluded at the headquarters of the Italian Community of Pula, where the documentary "Vergarolla. La strage cancellata " by Giampaolo Penco, produced by Videoest with the support of the FVG Audiovisual Fund and AIPI-LCPE, was screened. A video from Maria Grazia Belci's Oh cara terra mia project was also screened.

"Vergarolla, the erased massacre" that changed the face of Pola