Rental agreement of the Koper Seminary

In his frequent trips to Trieste, from France where he lives, Sergio Gnesda does not fail to organize "Istrian" days to return to his beloved Verteneglio, but not only, and take photos of the places he loves and the places he is only now rediscovering in a land always full of surprises. Often, after these itineraries, he stops at the CDM to comment together on his latest discoveries. During one of his last visits, he gave us a document that we make available online to those who surf but which can of course be consulted at our Center in via Filzi 6 (XNUMXth floor). It is the original of the Rental Contract of the building hosting the Capodistria Seminary. How did Gnesda find it? Here is the story he himself told us:

“In the immediate post-war period my brother Lino attended high school in Capodistria. One day, while wandering around the town, he noticed something among the papers of a fishmonger that seemed different from the usual book pages that were used to wrap fish. In fact, the shortage of paper was considerable, so the books and documents of the Episcopal Seminary of Capodistria that had been taken away and dispersed were currently being used in various ways. My brother's intuition had advised him well: it was in fact the original of the rental contract for the Seminary. He recovered it and brought it to Verteneglio, to our house. The document ended up in a box in the attic together with his books. In 1954 Lino left for America (he still lives in Chicago) and the box remained quiet for many years. Then in the 80s, together with my children, I returned to Verteneglio and we went to the attic "to look for" the treasures. We found books, personal letters, report cards but also the contract that we took to Trieste. We then left for France where, locked in a small safe, it remained quiet until, this year, the preparation of a series of conferences on dry stone architecture led me to take an interest in Istrian kažuni, making me discover the Multimedia Documentation Center of Istrian, Rijeka and Dalmatian culture. It then seemed natural to donate this document to the CDM, an organization that is responsible for safeguarding and enhancing Istrian history and culture. Now I hope that it will be awakened from its slumber by those who find it interesting and useful”. Sincerely, Sergio Gnesda