ula was born, survived and persisted by work of fugitives, Pula and Istria have been a frequent literary topos – the connection as a refuge and haven of European migrants, refugees and between ction and reality is rarely so seamless; the symbiosis vagrants... It was this nomadic destiny that created a polis, between the geographic and literary space is nothing short of generated a city and accompanied it all until these virtual perfection. e programme Pula – 2014 World Book Capital is Ptimes, carved it into stones, inscribed in on parchments, wrote oriented towards and dedicated to the city, inspired by its turbulent it in books and stored it on computers. Book celebration in this past, its multiculturalism and multilingualism, but also to the Istrian Mediterranean and Central European settlement in the very centre space, its specics and idiosyncrasies. By reinterpreting the relations of Europe, sprung out of a mythopoeic legend about the Argonauts, between ction and fact, by repositioning the book as a timeless began 3000 years ago, faithfully reecting the trilingualism and and ubiquitous form of one’s self-realisation, the programme goes multilingualism of Croatian literary tradition. roughout the beyond local and regional frameworks, inscribes new contents centuries, Istria has been the breeding place of fundamental literary and new experiences in the cultural map of Croatia, reinforces the texts, the place of translation and editing of the most popular works existing and builds new international relations. of European literary tradition, a bridge between the European West and Slavic South and East. It gave birth to important Croatian e concept of the programme is fuelled by the rich festival writers and thinkers – Herman Dalmatin, the rst Istrian intellectual tradition of Pula and Istria – lm, theatre, music, literary and book of the western European circuit, revivalist Juraj Dobrila, reformer festivals – it maps and upgrades the existing cultural resources, Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Paula von Preradović, author of the discovers new potentials and develops formats that should become a Austrian national anthem, Herman Potočnik Noordung, the pioneer paradigm of best cultural practice. rough a comprehensive scope of astronautics, space ights and rocket technology. It was visited by of target audience – from pre-school children to senior citizens, numerous world greats – from Dante and Michelangelo, James Joyce, underprivileged social groups, or visitors arriving to Croatia as a omas and Heinrich Mann, to the contemporaries such as Orhan world-famous destination – the programme proactively implements Pamuk, Umberto Eco, Claudio Magris, Peter Esterhazy... the principle of social inclusion in the spirit of UNESCO’s convention and declaration, and highlights the social dimension of Cultural infrastructure, renovated or built during the book capital books and reading as a lifestyle. By connecting with locations that term of oce – a literature house, integration of existing subculture already carried the title of World Book Capital, Pula assimilates spaces, Pula and Istria book routes in the footsteps of Joyce, Mann, their positive experiences, multiplies long-term cultural impacts of Dante, Cankar, Krleža, but also a trip to the world of incunabulae, their programmes, reinforces the existing literary connections and old and rare books and an insight into the world of Istrian Glagolitic establishes new relationships. priests, library night shis – will remain a permanent good of the city and region, while newly founded and strengthened networks of e promotion of reading as a worldview and lifestyle, the literary connections ensure the continuity of creation and mediation promotion of book – regardless of the change of format and of cultural contents within national and international boundaries. migration from the material to the virtual system – as fundamental determinants of one’s social and cultural progress, as a bridge Widespread support from the highest-ranking state, county and city between the past and the future are important guidelines of the institutions, NGOs and professional associations, numerous local programme concept. Such orientation is reected in year-long and and foreign partners, unanimous support from all stakeholders in month-long continuous programmes which place the book outside the book chain, from authors, publishers and booksellers to libraries its usual scope, put it somewhere unexpected, make it visible in and schools testify of the quality of the programme and guarantee innovative programme outlines and formats: Book in the Arena, professional implementation. Pre-assured nancial support Book Capitals’ Shipload, I ladri di biciclettte, Metaphor Bazaar, guarantees good and feasible implementation of the envisaged Bookship in Pula Waters, Pula and Istria Book Roads, Bookhouses, programmes. Pula’s Corso – Book of Quotes, Book Grati in Rojc, Drio l’Arena – Pula’s Montmartre, Listen to a Book with Coee, Sleeping with a Book, Attention – Writer in the City. fotke.indd 1 4/21/12 1:53 PM PULA – THE CITY OF Alexandrian librarian Callimachus of Cyrene pre-Roman inhabitants of Istria who gave it FUGITIVES (320-240 BC): a permanent name, at the dawn of the rst “ey calmed their oars on the river of Illyria, millennium before Christ (around that time ula was born, survived and persisted by By the gravestone of the blond Harmony-Serpent, there were another ve fortied settlements – work of fugitives, as a refuge and haven of And founded a city: a Greek would say Muzil, Monte Zaro, Šijana and Štinjan). e European migrants, refugees and vagrants... - a ‘City of Fugitives’, tribe of Histri (and their brave Histrian king PIt was this nomadic destiny that created a polis, Epulon), as well as their citadels were destroyed But in their tongue they called it Pula.” generated a city and accompanied it all until these and devastated by Roman legions (the nearby virtual times, carved it into stones, inscribed in Nesactium, 177 BC). e Romans established on parchments, wrote it in books and stored it a government, created a military post, a trade on computers. e Mediterranean (Adriatic) and IT ALL BEGAN empire, an economic and leisure province. Central European settlement in the very centre of 3000 YEARS AGO Europe sprang out of a mythopoeic legend (the here was life in the lowest, southernmost perseverant fate of Pula all until these days) about part of Istria, in the suburbs of today’s the Argonauts, golden eece, Colchian race, Jason’s Pula, in a paleontological cave of Šandalja ANTIQUE PULA ight and persecution and the unsuccessful quest Tsome 28 thousand years ago, but an organised he gradual urban (planning) formation for Medea, was written in two elegiac couplets social community, a citadel on the location of of Pula (defensive walls with gates, by a famed Hellenic poet and man on the source today’s Kaštel, which would in time become the squares and streets, residential and public of all the knowledge of the existing world, the core of the future city, was built by the Histri, Tstructures, cultural and athletic facilities, parks and playgrounds...) began in the Antique period, Latin alphabet in the Pula area (and Istria), as well ča-dialect like all the central Istrian children of the with the establishment of Pietas Iulia, the Roman as of the literacy of Pula’s inhabitants. With the time) and acquired basic education in Benedictine colony in Caesar’s time (in the mid-rst century fall of the Western Roman Empire, Pula changed abbeys and monasteries in Pula, Poreč, Motovun BC). e greatest thrive occurred during the sovereigns, languished in term of population and or Sv. Petar u Šumi. He was further educated at the rule of Septimius Severus in the late second and waited, almost devastated, for a new period of famous School of Chartres (mentored by master early third century, when it had approximately urbanity. In the late 6th century, the ethnic map ierry), where he became acquainted with seven twenty thousand inhabitants and was deemed, of Istria, including Pula, was divided in three liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, in addition to Salona (the central city of the cultures: Roman, Germanic and Slavic, while geometry, astronomy and music, aer which Roman Dalmatia), the largest settlement on the logically resulting political conicts, civilisation, he travelled across the Middle East and worked east Adriatic coast. e Roman government cultural and ethnic diversities and tensions at scriptoriums all over Europe: Toledo, Leon, (especially the rule of Augustus and Vespasian) attempted to nd peace in Placitum Risanum, Chartres, Toulouse, Beziers... is to be thanked for the still existing construction dating from 804. ornaments, Pula’s antique monuments: the sixth largest amphitheatre in the world (history, CROATIAN ALPHABET: i.e. the legend says that emperor Vespasian, THE FIRST CROATIAN inebriated with love, completed the monumental GLAGOLITIC SCRIPT Arena whose construction began in the time of INTELLECTUAL: HERMAN he Croatian people’s medieval alphabet, the emperor Claudius to honour his magnicent DALMATIN Glagolitic alphabet, was widespread since lover, a beautiful woman from Pula, the intelligent he oldest Croatian scholar, philosopher the 11th century and appeared in missals, libertina Antonia Cenida), city walls, Forum, and natural scientist, the rst Istrian Tbreviaries, collections, liturgical manuscripts Small Roman eatre (the Great Roman eatre western-oriented intellectual, Herman and frescoes as