Venice, 6th August 2021 – On the trail of Venice among ramparts, a winged lion mark, flavours and smells that takes us back to the Serenissima. “Tracce veneziane nelle isole di Cherso e Lussino” is the photography exhibition created to celebrate the 1600 years of the city of Venice, open until September 30th. The exhibition also aims at representing the bonds among the Serenissima and the lands nearby. As a matter of fact, Croatia shared with the Republic of Venice quite a long relationship. Istria, Dalmatia and some other territories formed part of the Venetian Republic for centuries. These territories together rose, fought the war against the Ottoman Empire, fell and ended. As a matter of fact, in Venice several are the calli, squares and bridges dedicated to these lands. Riva degli Schiavoni, for instance, takes the name from the merchants of Dalmatia, land which is commonly known as “Slavonia” in the Venetian dialect.
The exhibition, curated by the Comunità degli Italiani Lussinpiccolo and Comunità degli Italiani di Cherso, can be visited both in Cherso and in Lussinpiccolo (photographies and graphics by Sandro Triba of the Papyrum studio in Lussinpiccolo).
More than 1200 islands are located along the Croatian coast. From the ones on the north side of the country – in the gulf of Quarnaro – to the ones on the southern side of the country, offshore from Spalato and Ragusa. Every island has its own past, although each one was under the Venetian ruling power.
Cherso, which was part of the Republic of Venice until its fall in 1797, still maintains part of the ancient city walls built by the Venetians. Moreover, several are the buildings which date back to the Serenissima ruling period. Today, the door marked with the lion - symbol of Venice - the bell tower and the Renaissance loggia, can still be admired. The same can be claimed for the city centres of Lussino, where in the past, wooden churches were gradually replaced, consequently to the Venetian influence. Indeed, marble altars - built as replacements for the existing ones after the renovation of a Venetian church - were bought in Lussino. Eventually, here in Lussino it is still possible to visit the circular defence tower, once used as a protection from Turkish attacks.