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Sir Arthur Evans in Dalmatia
The Welcome Croatia Sir Arthur Evans seminar at the Ashmolean in Oxford last week was a great success. For those who were unable to attend, you might like to see the text of the introductory session from the Director of the museum, Dr Christopher Brown. It is attached to this email.
Sir Arthur Evans is today mostly remembered for his archaeological work on the island of Crete, and especially his excavations at the so-called ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knossos. But before Knossos, there were many other regions and time periods that attracted his interest.
Influenced by his father’s diverse antiquarian interests – the famous prehistorian Sir John Evans – young Arthur travelled extensively across Europe, while still an Oxford History undergraduate. His first visit to Croatia was in the late summer 1871 with his brother Lewis as part of a larger trip that included Austria.
Evans returned to Croatia in 1875, again joined by his brother Lewis. That was the beginning of a journey through Bosnia and Herzegovina which he later published as a book to gain an enthusiastic response by the press and critics of the time. The book was widely read and even quoted in Parliament – Evans became an authority in the region ‘after a month’s travel and a single book’.
While in Croatia, Evans visited Zagreb, Sisak, and Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). He was interested in everyday life as his writings and drawings suggest. For the archaeology of the region, especially in Dalmatia, and Evans’s efforts to bring it to light and make it accessible to the wider world, you will hear more later this afternoon by our distinguished speakers, Professor John Wilkes, Dr Susan Sherratt, Dr Susan Walker and Dr Helena Tomas.
The most celebrated period of Evans in Croatia was by far the years between 1878 and 1882, when he worked as correspondent for the Manchester Guardian. In 1878 he married Margaret Freeman and together they made Ragusa their home, where Arthur had taken a 20-year lease on a beautiful house overlooking the sea, called Casa San Lazzaro.
Evans came to dislike Austrian rule as much as the Ottoman. He would write: ‘The people were treated not as a liberated, but as a conquered and inferior race; their sense of right – which they do possess in a remarkable degree – is simply trodden underfoot.’ His anti-Austrian reports and activities led to his imprisonment and eventual expulsion from the area.
In 1932, at the age of 81 and after an absence of fifty years, Evans revisited Croatia with his sister-in-law Helen Freeman. He flew to Zagreb from where he wrote: ‘the traveller arriving by air, looks down on what is now a city of over a quarter of a million inhabitants, spaciously ‘town-planned’, with a bright garden band stretching to its centre, and interspersed with fine public buildings…’. Evans’s journey ended with a visit to Ragusa where he was welcomed as a hero. There he saw his old house, garden, and the prison where he was incarcerated in 1882. Such was Evans’s love for Ragusa that his half-sister and biographer, Dame Joan Evans would write that ‘for many years he had felt that he would best find rest in the flowery graveyard, barred by the shadows of Cypresses, that lies outside the walls of the city’. Although his attention progressively shifted to Crete, Evans never abandoned his interest in Dalmatia and the region as a whole.
The influence of Sir Arthur Evans extends far and beyond the realm of Minos and the island of Crete and even that of archaeology. His liberal views on the political situation in southeastern Europe and his knowledge on the people, the land and the different cultures made him an expert of the complex history of that part of the world.
The Ashmolean’s half-day symposium on ‘Sir Arthur Evans in Dalmatia’ presents us with a great opportunity to explore his travels in the region and to look at contemporary Croatian archaeology in celebration of Croatia’s accession to the European Union on the 1st of July.
It gives me particular pleasure to welcome the Croatian Ambassador Dr Ivan Grdešić (and Mrs Grdešić) to the Ashmolean on this special occasion. Finally, I should like to thank Dr Yannis Galanakis and ‘Welcome Croatia’ for organising today’s symposium, and Archaeopress for their financial support of the event.
Shearsman Books to publish Tin Ujević's poems translated by Richard Berengarten
Shearsman Books are about to publish bilingual edition of small selection of Tin Ujević's poems translated by Richard Berengarten and Daša Marić. Tin's poems have hardly been translated into English, and this is the first real attempt to do so seriously, even though on a small scale. Richard's translations have been published on several Croatian websites, most significantly in the cultural and academic web-journal "[sic]", a venture of the University of Zadar. There is also an extended critical and interpretative essay on Tin on the same website, which is quite possibly the first serious attempts by a British literary scholar to approach his work.
These translations have been widely circulated informally and on the web. For example, an enterprising English teacher in Croatia has been using some of these poems to help her pupils learn English. As the charming performances by these children suggest, Richard's translations retain the melos of Tin's poems.
Evening Standard review of West End hit musical 'Once', Wednesday 10 April 2013
Read about Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitesic at the heart of the new West End hit musical 'Once' here
Croatian Stand at the London Book Fair 2013
Read about Croatian Stand at the London Book Fair here
Mapping Croatia
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Radio programme by Ivana Perkovac about Welcome Croatia festival broadcast on HRT 1, 11 January 2013.
An initiative to be supported
I would like to inform the members of the British Croatian society about an important project worthy of our interest and support. It regards the future development and the preservation of the beautiful and unique island of Vis It is particularly interesting for the British Croatian Society because the island’s place in two crucial periods in the British history. It served for a short time as a British base in the Napoleonic wars, from which time there are still the remains of several British fortifications, in need of restoration. Furthermore the island served as a secure base for the Allied air forces during the last years of WW2. Until a year ago, while they were still capable of undertaking it, British veterans from that war (some of whose lives were saved once they reached Vis) made an annual visit to the island to commemorate this episode and honour their comrades. However, Vis has a much older history, in relation to which a local volunteer cultural association ‘Lavurat za poja’ (‘To labour for the fields’) successfully organised an international symposium called “ Anatomy of an Island”, supported by the municipalities Vis and Komiza, at the end of September 2012.
The purpose of the symposium was to revaluate the local historic and environmental legacy and develop ideas and proposals for the intelligent preservation and use of existing historical attractions, to create and give a valuable cultural content to the island’s tourist industry, and to prevent undesirable and uncontrolled overdevelopment. For the introductory symposium the organisers gathered an impressive group of specialist lecturers in the fields of archaeology, architecture, economics and history who analysed different aspects of the island from their particular points of view. The symposium, apart from local inhabitants, was attended by 200 participants amongst them 32 students of architecture from Japan, Croatia and Slovenia. The lecturers worked for the second part of symposium with the students divided into 6 groups to develop ideas arising from the lectures during the first week.
Among the specialists was one of the most famous Japanese architects, Prof. Kengo Kuma, who has two architectural studios in France and a chair at Tokyo University. He talked about his work in small and delicate environments. He was followed by Prof. Radovic, also teaching architecture in Japan, who talked about world trends in sustaining small environments. Apart from them one of the best known architects and selector for Venice Biennale 2010 Arch. Kazuyo Selima joined the symposium during its seminar week where she worked with the students.
Archeologists Boris Chargo, Lorenzzo Guzzardi from Siracusa in Sicily, Mirosalv Katic, Dinko Radic and other well-known archaeologists saw possibilities in enhancing the idea of the antique Greek colony of Issa, the oldest urban development in Dalmatia dating from 2400 BC. Ancient Issa, the outlines of which are still visible, was created when Greeks from Syracuse in Sicily decided to establish colonies along the Adriatic sea routes to facilitate trade with the Northern Adriatic . The Greek colonisation began with the development of the town and port of ancient Issa, which subsequently served as a starting point for further settlements such as Trogir and Stobrec. Issa was founded approximately at the same time as the Aegean Greeks founded Pharos. The archaeologists talked about antique Issa’s significance, explaining its layout and purpose, and how to read what is left of it. In the open debate that followed, all the participants in the symposium were invited to discuss how the site could be better preserved and made more interesting as a tourist attraction. Today the site of ancient Issa, near the central part of the town and port of Vis, is still not completely excavated, and what has been is rather neglected , certainly not well enough presented to attract much attention, except from dedicated archaeologists.
However the Greek site and its preservation was only one of the themes of the symposium. Other lecturers offered various insights on the island’s history, economy and architecture. The British historian, Malcolm Scott Hardy, author of the book “The British and Vis”, talked about some recent research placing the island in the context of political and military developments involving the British, Austrians and Russians exactly two hundred years before in 1812..
Considering that many of the islands along the Adriatic Croatian coast have been neglected (for example there are no boat connections between Komiza and the mainland), the Vis project should be of importance for the Croatian economy, because it stresses the need for control of future developments and their integration within the ecological, environmental and cultural preservation of the Dalmatian islands.
Realising the importance of the project, the ministries of culture and tourism have given support, making it possible to extend it for the next four years and for it to serve as a model to be followed by other islands.
A resident of Vis, the architect Bosko Budisavljevic, who was in charge of this exceptionally well-organised symposium and seminar, deserves much praise for this project, together with his many voluntary collaborators. The active participation of the present mayor of Vis, who hosted several excellent evenings and attended the various presentation, was particularly welcome.
More about this symposium with details of all the participants can be found on the web page:
Vesna Domany Hardy
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a Croatian laywer living in the UK. As I have recently witnessed many questions from Croatians living in th UK regarding their/our legal immigration status, once Croatia joins the EU (especially during the recent speech Mrs Pusic gave at the EBRD), I hereby wish to share with all my fellow Croatians a new document published last week at the UK Border Agency website.
The UK government has introduced to the Parliament the European Union (Croatian Accession) Bill on 18 October 2012. Accordingly, the Home Office has published a Statement of Intent setting out the transitional restrictions which it expects to apply to Croatian nationals working in the UK after 1 July 2013.
Please find attached the Statement of Intent. This document is not definitive, but it gives a useful indication of what to expect in terms of rights and obligations.
Many thanks.
Kind regards,
Lana Rukavina
Chris Cviic Memorial Lecture
Vesna Pusić, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister, gave the annual Chris Cviić memorial lecture on 17 October organised by the British-Croatian Society with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Her subject was Croatia in the EU.
Letter from the President
Pismo Predsjednika Republike Hrvatske
BLOOM Igra
Projekt je odlicno prihvacen od javnosti! Ljudi ga jako vole, pogotovo djeca i vec je jako popularan. I bez ikakvih uputa javnost intuitivno pristupa projektu i iako je BLOOM komponenta jednostavna i samo jednog tipa, svi s lakocom uspjevaju sloziti vrlo unikatne strukture. Ljudi vrlo brzo postaju ovisni o BLOOM igri - slicno originalnim LEGO blokovima koji su jako univerzalni i generalni - ali bas zato pruzaju mogucnost neiscrpnog broja kombinacija i "igraliste" su za vasu mastu! Imaginacije je jedino ogranicenje... S obzirom na velicinu komponenti (40 cm) Bloom strukture brzo rastu!
Dva velika paviljona koja smo mi u pocetku konstruirali (oba u labirint konfiguracijama kroz koje ljudi a pogotovo djeca mogu prolaziti) su vrlo brzo dozivjeli potpune transformacije od strane posjetitelja. Na neki nacin su nase pocetne strukture ohrabrile posjetitelje da se sami vrlo revno angaziraju. BLOOM je dizajniran na nacin suprotan minimalnim optimalnim strukturama koje se moraju sastavljati po strogim pravilima. jako puno poveznih tocki u strukturi (redundancija) omogucava visoku toleranciju strukture i puno mogucnosti za improvizaciju koja je sastavni dio BLOOM igre. Strukture genrativno rastu kroz interaktivnu igru...
Ja ovakav tip konstrukcija obicno koristim u svojoj metodologiji sa studentima na universitetu kad tek pocnu raditi na logickim strukturama (algorithmima) koje su moja specijalnost. Na taj nacin studenti dobiju vrlo intuitivan osjecaj za kod i matematicke strukture koje se naknadno razviju u generativne kompjuterske metode za dizajn. Trafalgar Square ce biti najznacajnija lokacija i ona ce se otvoriti 28.8.
Croatian Cyclists in London for Olympics
A 17 member team of Croatian cyclists arrived in London for the Olympics after a 32 day cycle from Zagreb. They were welcomed by Lord Bates and taken to see the Houses of Parliament before cycling off to Stratford to complete their journey.
Welcome Croatia
Preparations are under way for a major Croatian festival, Welcome Croatia, to take place in the UK from January to June, 2013. The programme is expected to include:
The launch of a photography competition Croatia through the eyes of a visitor in February 2012. This will run over 12 months leading to an exhibition of theshort-listed prize winners in February 2013.
Our Chair, Flora Turner, represented the British-Croatian Society at an event on February 1 to honour Dr Kathy Wilkes. Vivian Grisogono has
sent this report. You can also watch the event by going to the link given at the bottom of this page. Dr Kathy Wilkes honoured in Dubrovnik Dr Kathleen Vaughan Wilkes (1946-2003) was an Oxford philosopher,
lecturer at St. Hilda's, who achieved a special kind of eminence. Her
formidable intellect was matched with indomitable courage whenever she was
faced with physical danger and adversity. Details of her adventurous life and
academic career were celebrated in the St.Hilda's Chronicle following her
death. Having become a Fellow of St. Hilda's in 1972 at the age of 26, she
volunteered six years later to visit Prague, then behind the Iron Curtain, to
give philosophy seminars, which were considered a dissident activity. She
returned to then-Czechoslovakia several times, even after she had been refused
a visa, and was tireless in helping Czech academics and students right up to
the fall of the Iron Curtain in the `Velvet Revolution' of 1989. Kathy also spent time teaching in the then-Soviet Union, Poland,
Bulgaria, Brazil and China, but it was in former Yugoslavia that her courage
and resources were put to the greatest test. She had become Chairman of the
Executive Committee of Dubrovnik's Inter-University Centre in 1986, and spent
time teaching there every year, as well as co-editing with William Newton-Smith
an academic journal first entitled `Dubrovnik Papers' and later `International
Studies in the Philosophy of Science'. Kathy was in Dubrovnik in 1991 when the
Serb-led Yugoslav National Army suddenly attacked the city with ruthless,
sickening aggression. For the 1996 -1997 edition of the St. Hilda's chronicle, Kathy wrote
a moving article about what life in Dubrovnik was like under siege from
September 1991 to January 1992. Her personal account evoked the full horror of
the relentless attacks from air, sea and land against one of the most beautiful
historical holiday resorts in the world. No journalist's report ever matched
her descriptions in bringing home the full extent of the tragedy. On October
3rd 1991, Kathy spoke with calm determination to the BBC World Service for
their Topical Reports: `There's no water. There's no electricity. This is the
only phone in Dubrovnik. There's fire all around. I think nobody including the
Croatian President knows the extent of the damage here. The houses are on fire.
About a quarter of Dubrovnik and the suburbs have been destroyed.' That was two
months before the specially brutal aggression on December 6th 1991, the feast
of St. Nicholas which marks the start of Catholic Christmas celebrations. Kathy received several honours for her courage, tenacity, vision and
help, including one of Croatia's highest awards (Red Danice hrvatske), but the
one she prized most was the honorary citizenship of Dubrovnik, which was
granted in 1993. After her death, Kathy's ashes were scattered in the sea under
the Lovrijenac fortress. In 2011 the city officials decided to mark their
continuing appreciation of her unique contribution with a commemorative plaque
on an historic square near the fortress, renaming the square after her. The
formal unveiling ceremony was held on February 1st 2012 during the celebrations
for the feast of Saint Blaise, Dubrovnik's patron saint. It was attended by a
select group of people, including children too young to have known the war,
alongside some of Kathy's old friends such as Mr Pero Poljanic, Dubrovnik's
Mayor at the time of the siege; Mrs Berta Dragicevic, long-serving secretary of
the Inter-University Centre; and Mrs Tea Batinic, owner of the Artur art
gallery, in whose house Kathy stayed during the war. Four prominent people spoke movingly of her achievements
from different standpoints: the present Mayor of Dubrovnik Mr Andro Vlahusic,
the Town Council President Mrs Olga Muratti, Inter-University Centre Director
Prof.dr.Krunoslav Pisk, and Mrs Flora Turner, Kathy's successor as Chairman of
the British-Croatian Society. Vivian Grisogono http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMH_NOcroM&feature=related
The festival
committee, chaired by Sir John Ramsden, consists of the British-Croatian
Society, the Croatian Students and Young Professionals Network, the Embassy of
the Republic of Croatia, the Oxford Association of Croatian Graduates, the
International Trust for Croatian Monuments, the Croatian National Tourist
Office and the British Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
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Kathy stayed in the city, helping the local people in every way
possible, and sharing the misery and deprivations of the experience. She left
only to collect aid to bring back to the city, travelling under very difficult
circumstances. Besides being brilliant academically, she was very practical:
she brought back medical supplies and even an ambulance while the siege was
still on, and later on mine detectors when the area around Dubrovnik could be
cleared. She seemed specially attuned to practical needs: in her article for
the St. Hilda's Chronicle, written
after the end of the aggression, she highlighted the disaster of Vukovar, a
city which was suffering much worse than Dubrovnik, but without the
international sympathy focused on the latter. She also pointed out that
refugees were still crammed into Dubrovnik's surviving hotels, and the outlying
villages were totally devastated.
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One of our members has sent the following information about the recent Klapa Motovun concert in London:
The 2011
annual dinner of the British-Croatian Society featuring the City of Dubrovnik
was held in the prestigious surroundings of the Oxford and Cambridge Club on
Pall Mall, London on Saturday December 3. The dinner, attended by over
100 people including the Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik Mr Niko Salja and his wife,
was supported by the City of Dubrovnik. Dr Robin Harris, author of Dubrovnik: A History, gave a talk entitled The Historic Achievement of
Dubrovnik (now printed in the second of the new series of booklets issued by
the Society).
A raffle
at the dinner raised 640 GBP for this year's British-Croatian Society charity Napredak
from Dubrovnik (www.hkdnapredak.com).
The
following is a translation from an article that appeared in the Dubrovacki Vjesnik newspaper on December
12, 2011:
The
twentieth anniversary of the ruthless destruction of Dubrovnik is still
remembered in London. The British-Croatian Society, supported by the City of
Dubrovnik Tourist Board and many members and donors, held their traditional
annual dinner this year dedicated to the memory of the victims of the war.
The evening was organised in the classical ambience of the Oxford and Cambridge
Club, preceded by an exhibition of documents from the history of Dubrovnik in
the exhibition hall of our embassy. This was a logical prelude to
dinner, where the main speaker was historian Robin Harris, the well-known
author of books about Dubrovnik's past and present. At the main table were Deputy
Mayor of Dubrovnik Niko Salja, who came with his wife, and hosts Branko
Sorkocevic Sorge and the President of the British-Croatian Society, Mrs Flora
Turner. Miso Mihocevic was a special guest of honour.
The hall, which was filled to capacity, included Ivica Tomic, Ambassador of the
Republic of Croatia in the UK, with his guests, Mr Andrew Kojakovic and his
daughters, Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse and her family, the Frankopan family
and many prominent Croats and their British friends.
Also at the dinner was the Maestro Oliver Gilmour, recently a resident of
Dubrovnik. This provided the opportunity for the Deputy Mayor to announce a new
addition to the overall cultural offer of the City - a project entitled the
Dubrovnik Summer Opera which will begin in June with the staging of Mozart's
opera Cosi fan tutte on Lokrum.
A pleasant dinner at the elegant club finished with a raffle to raise funds for
a charity supported by the British-Croatian Society.
Please follow the below link for an article on fishing in
Dalmatia from The Economist Intelligent Life website:
