La Bancarella, the Eastern Adriatic Book Fair , returns to Trieste, organized by the Multimedia Documentation Center for Julian, Istrian, Rijeka, and Dalmatian Culture, in collaboration with the Municipality of Trieste and the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia. This cultural event, founded in 2006, will have a unique format this year.

"Unlike previous editions," explains Renzo Codarin , president of the CDM, "we won't concentrate all the activities in a single weekend, but will instead hold a series of in-depth events leading up to Remembrance Day 2018, marking the 70th anniversary of the Paris Peace Treaty of February 10, 1947 (which came into force on September 15), which so profoundly affected Italy's eastern border and marked a crucial stage in the exodus of 350.000 Istrians, Fiume, and Dalmatians. Trieste became the moral capital of that Exodus, and therefore it is important to hold this series of cultural events in the Julian capital today."

The festival will open with two special events: on Saturday, October 28th, at 20:30 pm, the Teatro Verdi will host a concert for the Martyrs of the Foibe and the Julian-Dalmatian Exiles by Maestro Uto Ughi , whose prestigious violin will be accompanied by Maestro Bruno Canino on the piano. The following day, Sunday, October 29th, at 11:00 am, the Ridotto del Verdi will host a conference by Professor Ernesto Galli Della Loggia on the theme of The Homeland and the Eastern Border.

"Music is certainly an instrument that transcends divisions and reaches straight to people's souls and hearts, seeking to soothe even the most wounded hearts," says Maestro Ughi, of Istrian origins, as his father hailed from Piran, the birthplace of the great 18th-century musician Giuseppe Tartini , whose statue still stands in the town's main square. Tartini himself, with his "Devil's Trill," will be the focus of the concert (organized in collaboration with the Arturo Toscanini Cultural Association of Savigliano), whose setlist also includes pieces by Brahms, Dvořák, Wieniavsky, and de Sarasate. This performance has already been performed in Treviso, and in 2015, during the institutional ceremony for Remembrance Day, the Maestro performed at the Senate of the Republic in memory of the victims of the Foibe massacres. Advance tickets are available at the theater box office or by calling the toll-free number 800 898 868.

In the following meeting (free admission until all seats are taken), Galli Della Loggia, professor emeritus of Contemporary History and author of the famous essay «The Death of the Fatherland», will analyze Italy's relationship with Venezia Giulia, Carnaro and Dalmatia starting from the Risorgimento, to reach the First World War, passing through Irredentism, but will also focus on what concepts and ideals such as Homeland, nation and anti-fascism meant in these lands in the final phase of the Second World War and what their current declination may be, with particular reference to the perspective of those who were born in the tormented border lands or have their roots in them.

This prestigious pairing of events will mark the beginning of the Bancarella's cultural program, which will continue in the Sala Bazlen of Palazzo Gopcevich (Via Rossini, 4), with book presentations, round tables, and conferences staggered between November and February. Among the guests scheduled to appear will be the celebrated and renowned Istrian chef Joe Bastianich . The program will begin on Saturday, November 11th at 17:30 pm with the presentation of the book "Alida Valli from Pola to Hollywood and Beyond" and the round table "Nazario Sauro and Cinema," hosted by Alessandro Cuk (Alcione, Treviso 2016). On Saturday, November 18th at 17:30 pm, there will be a review of recent editorial and historiographical developments regarding Italy's eastern border, hosted by Professor Adriana Ivanov Danieli. On Monday, November 27, at 17:30 PM, in the Tergeste Room of the Hotel Savoy Excelsior (Riva del Mandracchio, 4), Vice President of the Senate Maurizio Gasparri will discuss "The Italian Republic and the Eastern Border" with historians and journalists. Finally, on Saturday, December 2, at 17:30 PM, Lorenzo Salimbeni's book "On the Edge of the Foiba. Stories and Events of Italianness" (Pagine, Rome 2016) will be presented. The new year will see the start of activities promoted by the Julian-Dalmatian diaspora and patriotic associations, who accepted the Multimedia Documentation Center's invitation to contribute to this broad array of historical and cultural insights.

Info: ufficiostampa@salonebancarella.it