SECTION HISTORY

PERSONALITIES IN ROMANIAN HISTORY (15th - 20th centuries) dr. Ioan DAMASCHIN, Liga Navală Română Great Romanian Princes, benefactors of the Holy Mount Athos. Saint Stefan the Great - benefactor of the Zographou Monastery dr. Mariana LAZĂR, Muzeul Național Cotroceni Prince , „about the mother of my ancestor” - a political model for prince Şerban Cantacuzino dr. Cristina GUDIN, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București Tudor Vladimirescu or the man who defied the impossible dr. Ligia LIVADĂ-CADESCHI, Facultatea de Științe Politice, Universitatea București Less well-known aspects of Mihail Kogălniceanu's social thinking. Social assistance and the eradication of begging dr. Viorella MANOLACHE, Institutul de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale „Ion I. C. Brătianu”, Academia Română From/In the gallery of the founding fathers of : Simion Bărnuțiu dr. Cristian-Ion POPA, Institutul de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale „Ion I. C. Brătianu” Ion C. Brătianu – a „founding father” of modern Romania dr. Liviu BRĂTESCU, Institutul de Istorie „A.D. Xenopol”, Iași King Carol I and the end of a political regime (1887-1889) dr. Sorin Sebastian DUICU, Academia Oamenilor de Ştiinţă din România Gratitude and Dedication to the „The One who Made the Country Whole”, for „Missy” and those on the Front Line

Ana Maria BONCIU, cercetător independent Queen Mary's role in the Great War from a literary and publishing perspective dr. Cristina VOHN, Institutul de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale „Ion. I. C. Brătianu”, Academia Română Ion I. C. Brătianu - the last great Romanian reformer dr. Delia BĂLĂICAN, Biblioteca Academiei Române Vintilă Brătianu's vision of the „public vote” dr. Dumitru PREDA, Fundația Europeană Titulescu - a life in the service of Romania 80 years after his passing into eternity dr. Mirela Daniela TÎRNĂ, Arhivele Naționale ale României King Mihai – childhood and adolescence dr. Alina PAVELESCU, dr. Cristian ANIȚA, Arhivele Naționale ale României Antoine Bibescu and Corcova Estate - Sources of a Biographical Research dr. Irina CÎRSTINA, Complexul Național Muzeal ,,Curtea Domnească” Târgoviște Family portrait: Constantin Dimitriu (1872-1945), outstanding personality of Romania's political and cultural life

dr. Corina ANDREI, Complexul Național Muzeal ,,Curtea Domnească” Târgoviște King Carol II of Romania during the opening day of Dobrești Hydropower Plant, in Dambovita County

CULTURAL PERSONALITIES

dr. Maria CERNAT, Universitatea „” Sofia Nădejde - important personality of Romanian culture dr. Ian BROWNE, cercetător independent On the heights of Nietzsche’s despair – Cioran’s misreading of Nietzsche dr. Doru TOMPEA, Universitatea „” din Iași A devoted intellectual: Petre Andrei

REFORMS OF MODERN ROMANIA (19th - 20th centuries)

dr. Ioana DRĂGULIN, Muzeul Național Cotroceni Romanian and Romania in the autochthonous culture during the creation of the modern state (1859-1920) dr. Aurelian Virgil BĂLUŢĂ, Universitatea Spiru Haret Management of public finances and the national economy during the Constitutional Monarchy in Romania (1866-1947) dr. Simion CÂLȚIA, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București Opposition to modernization. Case study - the failure of tram electrification under the mayor Barbu Delavrancea dr. Ștefania DINU, Muzeul Național Cotroceni The reforms of : the agrarian reform of 1921 lect.univ.dr. Mihai GHIŢULESCU, Universitatea din Craiova, Departamentul de Istorie, Ştiinţe Politice şi Relaţii Internaţionale Five Electoral Reform Projects in Interwar Romania drd. Gabriel DOLINSCHI, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative Short history of the elections - universal vote, the basis of democracy in inter-war Romania 1918-1937

Cătălin MANEA, Muzeul Național Cotroceni Situation of the land ownership of the Romanian state after the agrarian reform of 1921 dr. Andrei Florin SORA, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București A Long-Awaited Law: The 1923 „Statute” of Civil Servants drd. Dacian VASINCU, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative Evolution or parliamentary involution - comparison between the first after the of 1918 and the current parliamentarism dr. Jănel TĂNASE, Academia Forțelor Aeriene „Henri Coandă” Cristian MANOLACHI, Statul Major al Forțelor Aeriene Air battle for the liberation of Basarabia. First day of war of the air combat group - 22nd of june 1941 INTERBELIC EUROPE – EVOLUTION DIRECTIONS IN POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PLAN dr. Mihai MILCA, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative Great Romania - historical opportunities and geopolitical challenges in the post- Trianon period (extensive borders, massive demographic influxes, political- institutional and administrative reconfigurations, ethnic minorities with irredentist pretensions, security tensions in the surrounding areas) dr. Angelo CHIELLI, Universitatea „Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italia Hermann Heller's interpretation of fascism dr. Sabin DRĂGULIN, Universitatea „Petre Andrei”, Iași Petre Andrei and the analysis of fascism dr. Ursula OLLENDORF, Universitatea „Aldo Moro” din Bari in the period between the two Great Wars dr. Fabrizio FIUME, Universitatea „Aldo Moro” din Bari The prologue. Antonio Gramsci and Fordism in the reformulation of European society: value system and organisation of work and politics. A new prologue to the history of the twentieth century? dr. Florian RĂPAN, Universitatea Creştină „Dimitrie Cantemir” Geopolitics of Romania in Interwar Europe dr. Luminița KOHALMI, Universitatea Creștină „Dimitrie Cantemir” București Romania's security policy in the period between the First and Second World War - collective security dr. Alda KUSHI, Universitatea, „Aldo Moro” din Bari Albania between the two World Wars drd. Giulia CHIELLI, Universidad de Granada The anomalous fascism of the

SECTION

VALUES OF THE NATIONAL CULTURAL Heritage

dr. Ioan OPRIȘ, Universitatea Valahia, Târgoviște From Malraux's museum and Vergo's new museology to the telemuseum

MEDIEVAL CULTURAL HERITAGE dr. Ginel LAZĂR, Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Spiritual, cultural and heritage identities surprised in the work carried out by Nicodemus from Tismana in the medieval Romanian space

arhim. dr. Policarp CHIȚULESCU, Biblioteca Sfântului Sinod New Romanian testimonies from abroad dr. Oana-Mădălina POPESCU, Biblioteca Academiei Române Daniil the Hermit - mentioned as a saint in heritage documents from the 17th-18th centuries

Mihai-Alex OLTEANU, Muzeul Mitropolitan Iași Russian silverwork from the imperial period in the collection of the Mitropolitan Museum Iași: craftsmen, workshops and companies

dr. Șarolta SOLCAN, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București Abandoned heritage monuments: wooden churches

ARTISTS - COLLECTIONS - COLLECTORS dr. Elisabeta NEGRĂU , Institutul de Istoria Artei „G. Oprescu” The portraits of Prince Ioannis Giorgios Karatzas dr. Carmen TĂNĂSOIU, Muzeul Național de Artă al României Gems and cameos from the collection of the National Art Museum of Romania

Livia GEORGESCU, Muzeul Național Cotroceni Diverse and striking artistic visions in the ceramic’s decoration of the Cotroceni National Museum (19th - 20th centuries). The message of the true and mythological symbol drd. Macrina OPROIU, Muzeul Național Peleș Royal gardens of (1919-1930) dr. Cristian SCĂICEANU, Banca Națională a României The king Carol II and the imperforated postage stamps issued during his reign (1930- 1940)

Monica LAZĂR, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române The Cezar Papacostea Collection from the heritage/patrimony of the National Museum of Romanian Literature in

Mădălina-Ioana MANOLACHE, Muzeul de Artă Populară „Dr. N. Minovici”, Muzeul Municipiului București Inventor and entrepreneur: Dumitru Tache Brumărescu and a new look at his activity dr. Adriana DUMITRAN, Biblioteca Națională a României A photographer of Romanian heritage - engineer Stelian Petrescu drd. Felicia RAETZKY, Muzeul Municipiului București Medrea 1944 retrospective - a highlighting exhibition in times of uncertainty dr. Florin GEORGESCU, Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Symbols of anti-totalitarian resistance found in the fine art collection of the National Museum of

dr. Mihaela TOADER, Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului și Memoria Exilului Românesc Romanian Library in Freiburg. Cultural and spiritual heritage of in Germany drd. Gabriela BALABAN, Facultatea de Litere, Universitatea București Idel Ianchelevici at Bucharest

Adrian Silvan IONESCU, Institutul de Istoria Artei „G. Oprescu” Silvan and politicians: the last decade of the creation of a Romanian portraitist (1989-1999) dr. Mădălina NIŢELEA, Muzeul Național Cotroceni An interpretation of the cultural heritage of the Cotroceni National Museum, at the anniversary time drd. Lucica BRAD - PARASCHIVESCU, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București Ethnographic landmarks of the textile heritage from the village Mărgău

RESTORATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE dr. Ioana Lidia ILEA , Muzeul Național Cotroceni Competence criteria for professionals in restoration and conservation according to the occupational standards

Gabriela ROTARU, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române Restoration of the „Minei for April”, 19th century, in the collections of the National Museum of Romanian Literature in Bucharest

Oana PĂCURARIU, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române „Minaion for June”, 1852. Restoration-Conservation

Raluca CASAPU, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române Aspects regarding the restoration-conservation of the volume „Menaion for September” (1852)

Anastasia FLOROIU, Muzeul Național Cotroceni Methodological aspects during the restoration of a nineteenth century work of art - case study: „The Icon Saint Vasile”

Roxana LĂCRARU – TOPOR, Muzeul Național Cotroceni The preservation by restoration of a frame belonging to the 19th century SECTION HISTORY ABSTRACTS

PERSONALITIES IN ROMANIAN HISTORY (15th - 20th centuries)

dr. Ioan DAMASCHIN, Liga Navală Română

Great Romanian Princes, benefactors of the Holy Mount Athos. Saint Stefan the Great - benefactor of the Zographou Monastery Abstract: After the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Land, the Holy Mount Athos (being one of the three peninsulas, which form the Great Peninsula Halkidiki, located in the northern part of ) is the holiest and the most important site for the Christianity, especially for the Orthodox faithful people. The almost one hundred princes from and , as well as many hierarchs, governors or notable noblemen of the land, in almost five centuries (XIV-XIX), have helped the monasteries to resist the ravages of the ages and overall, during a millennium, the Holy Mount aggressors– invaders, pirates, calamities, the hardship of the weather s.o. The Beneficiaries received donations, mentioned in the almost 25 000 charters (hrisoave), found in the archives of the monasteries, including new buildings or the renovations of the churches, refectories, cells, kitchens, harbors, defense towers, aqueducts, as well as other annex quarters necessary for the monastic life. In addition to the constructions at monasteries and hermitages, a lot of donations of the Romanian princes consisted in the offerings of villages and domains or large sums of money, valuable church objects – shrines for holy relics, epitrachelions, icons, priesthood attire, all adorned with precious metals or stones, as well as church objects, which, most of them withstanding the aging, still exist in altars or other places for veneration, and preservation. Zographou - „our Monastery from the Holy Mount” The name of the Monastery comes from the - „Saint George the Zografos” (painter). The first one among the princes of Moldavia making donations to the Zographou Monastery was Alexandru the Good who offered the monastery Capriana, his foundation (today is found in the Republic of Moldavia), together with the entire owned land, in 1428. Alexandru I (Aldea), one of Mircea the Elder’s sons, was the second Romanian Voivode who, starting with 1433, granted „every year” an amount of 3.000 aspri to Zographou Monastery. Saint Stefan the Great was even more involved, with offerings and subordinate monasteries (metohuri), in the construction and maintenance of the Zographou Monastery. The documents and charters of his time certify the fact that, between 1466 to 1502, he had completely re-built the monastic complex and made substantial monetary donations. Thus, in 1466 he granted to Zographou Monastery, each year, 100 Hungarian ducats and, starting with 1471 A.D., he donated, annually, a sum of 500 aspri for the repairs of the Hospice (Bolnita). Between 1472 and 1475 he rebuilt the Katholikon, as well as the lighthouse tower, for directing the ships and, the harbor (arsana). In 1475 Saint Stefan the Great donated to Zographou Monastery a collection of biblical writings and, in 1484 he offered a Miraculous Icon of Saint George. In the same time, he presented them two of his military flags. Between 1490 and 1495, the distinguished Voivode had the external walls of the Zographou Monastery to be rebuilt, together with the perimeter walls, the monastic cells (Kellias) and the refectory (Trapeza). In the church building (Katholikon) of the Zographou monastery there is a commemorative painting, showing the three Romanian princes-benefactors of the monastery: Stefan the Great, Alexandru Lăpușneanu and Vasile Lupu. Keywords: Athos, monasteries, Romanian princes, Stefan the Great, Zographou monastery, benefactor.

dr. Mariana LAZĂR, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

Prince Neagoe Basarab, „about the mother of my ancestor” - a political model for prince Şerban Cantacuzino Abstract: In the context of the 500th anniversary since the end of Neagoe Basarab’s reign (1512-1521), one of the most remarkable personalities of Romanian history, we propose an approach to his reign from the perspective of his political and cultural heritage. Neagoe, a legitimate descendant or the only adopted son of the great ban Pârvu Craiovescu (as the son of prince Basarab the Younger and Neaga, before her marriage to this noble), ascended the throne of Wallachia, affirmed his lineage from this ruler and adopted the name „Basarab voivod”, as way of proclaiming the connection with the of Walachia. From this perspective, later his reign became a source of dynastic legitimization for the rulers of the 17th century descendants of the Craiovescu family, „Basarabii-Craiovesti”: Radu Șerban, Matei Basarab, Constantin Şerban, Şerban Cantacuzino, Constantin Brâncoveanu and Ştefan Cantacuzino. Radu Şerban and then Matei Basarab are the ones who, for that matter, imposed the name of Basarab as the name of the Wallachian dynastic family - with reference, however, to their kinship with Neagoe Basarab and not to the name of the first ruler of Wallachia, Basarab I (who, at that time, was designated by Radu Negru voievod). Şerban Cantacuzino, ascended to the „throne of the grandfathers and ancestors of my reign” (1678-1688), explicitly affirmed his dynastic legitimacy through the maternal lineage from Radu Şerban, whose name he shared (Radu was the name adopted by him as ruler, Şerban being the baptismal name): „grandson of the great and good Christian, Io Șerban Basarab voievod”. Aware of the seniority and nobility of his ancestry, both on a paternal and maternal line, Şerban Cantacuzino reported himself in his actions to these royal ancestors, including Neagoe Basarab, „about the mother of my ancestor”, who was in a way his political model. Comparing their reigns, certain similarities can be identified, although some of them cannot be considered as inspired to Cantacuzino by the reign of Neagoe Basarab, but were probably a „result” of destiny. Both achieved the reign with the support of close relatives, after a career as a great minister, through which they gained experience in state governance. Ascending the throne after a period of political instability, they acted to strengthen the position of ruler and internal stability, each having a reign of almost ten years. And in the end, they died on the throne. Unfortunately, they no longer had dynastic succession, their descendants, very young, failing to establish themselves as ruler - Theodosie reigned only a few months, dying in unclear conditions in the Ottoman Empire, and Gheorghe/Iordache Cantacuzino took refuge with his mother in . Their spiritual and cultural heritage was, however, the one that established them for posterity. Living in a society with a deeply rooted religious mentality, Neagoe Basarab and Şerban Cantacuzino proved to be supporters of the Church, through acts of building, renovating and donating to churches. They were the founders of great monastic settlements, intended to be necropolises of their ruling families. The Argeș Monastery, the main foundation of Neagoe Basarab, was a model for the most important royal monasteries, including the one of Cotroceni Șerban Cantacuzino, in particular by the planimetry and stone-carved decoration of the church. Şerban Cantacuzino also renovated the church of Arges Monastery. The policy of supporting the Orthodox community was characteristic for both of them, through relations with orthodox patriarchs and donations to the Holy Places, Şerban Cantacuzino dedicated his monastery from Cotroceni to the entire monastic community of Mount Athos. And, the main representatives of the Great Orthodox Church often came to visit their royal courts for help. Another dimension of their spiritual-cultural policy was to support the pattern, however living in different times, they also had different objectives. Neagoe Basarab financed the printing of the third book printed in Wallachia, the Slavonic Tetraevengheliar (Gospel), in 1512. Şerban Cantacuzino began his editorial program with the Gospel (1682), but his main objective was to introduce the into worship, financing the translation and printing in the Romanian also of the Apostle (1683) and the Bible (1688). Keywords: Neagoe Basarab, Şerban Cantacuzino, Basarab dynasty, Arges monastery, Cotroceni monastery, religious books, printing

dr. Cristina GUDIN, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București

Tudor Vladimirescu or the man who defied the impossible Abstract: The 200th anniversary since the assassination of Tudor Vladimirescu is a good opportunity to highlight the qualities of a complex personality, whose name was linked to the Romanians' attempt to regain control over their own countries. A true model of success at the time, Tudor Vladimirescu managed to overcome his condition, training, prospering economically and acquiring positions in the administration. At the same time, he stood out for his ability to mobilize the population in the fight against abuse, but also in the harmonization of some groups that were traditionally in conflict. Although temporary, his successes demonstrated a good knowledge of human nature and internal and external political realities. However, the multiple variables that manifested themselves in 1821 ruined his efforts and delayed the realization of his initiatives, without cancelling his merits. Keywords: Tudor Vladimirescu, Revolution of 1821, historical figures, political ideas, Eteria

dr. Ligia LIVADĂ-CADESCHI, Facultatea de Științe Politice, Universitatea București

Less well-known aspects of Mihail Kogălniceanu's social thinking. Social assistance and the eradication of begging A writer, publicist, thinker and politician constantly present in the Romanian public space for several decades, Mihail Kogălniceanu has always been concerned with social issues. Although commonly associated with the agrarian reform of 1864, Mihail Kogălniceanu was also interested in abolishing slavery, diminishing the effects of pauperism, prohibiting begging or organizing social assistance. Therefore, we intend to present some of the articles (especially About Pauperism, 1845, 1846, 1854) and legislative projects (identified by Alexandru Zub, Mihail Kogălniceanu, 1817- 1891; Bibliography, Bucharest, 1971) on the granting of individual aid in specific cases, to organize aid for villagers hit by natural disasters, to eradicate begging and vagrancy, to set up specialized settlements for invalid beggars (the hospices of beggars from Orgoesti and Lipova), for beggars by profession (the professional beggar penitentiary in Ismail) or for vagrants (correctional prison in Floresti). We also propose an analysis of the regulations of the Orgoeşti and Lipova hospices (1860) and the prison in Ismail. Mihail Kogălniceanu's articles and proposals for social assistance demonstrate the direct reception of French authors (e.g. François Alexandre Frédéric de La Rochefoucault-Liancourt or Adolphe Gustave Blaise). They bear witness to their author's perfect connection to the European intellectual and cultural climate in the mid-19th century and to the fact that the young modern Romanian state tried to adopt and adapt a whole range of institutions and settlements with a social vocation. Keywords: Modern Romania, Mihail Kogălniceanu, politician, social programs, social assistance dr. Viorella MANOLACHE, Institutul de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale „Ion I. C. Brătianu”, Academia Română

From/In the gallery of the founding fathers of Romania: Simion Bărnuțiu Abstract: Approaching the Encyclopaedia Britannica guidelines underlined in Founding Fathers: The Essential Guide to the Men Who Made America (2007), the conceptual frame of the group portrait of the founding personalities cannot ignore the individualized presentation of the country founders. The today's reader must, through a reverential ritual, to recognize their electromagnetizing imprint (their guiding role), but also to investigate their hyperbolizing aspects, necessary for the functioning of a thus determined filiation relationship. Precisely in this frame cam be inscribed the portrait that George Panu made of Simion Bărnuțiu (Amintiri dela din Iași, 1942, pp. 12-13), marked by a memory germinated by the immediate experience of meeting him (Mihăilean period), stating that Bărnuțiu „had a great knowledge, that he knew all the secrets of the world”, being a respected personality (a cultic one), who exerted an irresistible, hypnotizing influence and attraction. George Panu places Simion Bărnuțiu in the series of Socrates, Epictetus or Christ, with a hypnotic force and a fascinating influence, that of his overwhelming personality, as a master-parent relationship, his students following the model – „they spoke like him, they dressed like him and, especially, they thought like him”. Joseph J. Ellis referred, in the introductory notes of the Founding Fathers Encyclopedia, to the custom of returning to the heroic-founding models (neither gods nor earthlings) and of reconsidering them, an idea anticipated by Simion Bărnuțiu himself, as cultivating the balance (with perspicacity and correction) of the good disposition of the parts, by a proper distribution and by a distributed and distributive attention given to both light and shadow (Estetica, 1972, pp. 111- 112). Methodologically, Joseph J. Ellis operates with an essentialized three-phase formula: explaining the mechanism of selection of a personality indispensable for building a nation; the characteristics of the personality must have been ideologically relevant and demonstrated by his – theoretical and practical – decisive actions; indicating and commenting on temperamental coordinates, which give particular value to a personality. The substance of the construct is found, in Bărnuțiu's case, in the valorization of proportion and convenience, as a principle of harmonizing singular with the plural- component elements, an operative principle, particularized just by its location at the very foundation of the Romanian state. Keywords: Simion Bărnuțiu, Founding Fathers of Romania, practical vocation, unpractical temperament

dr. Cristian-Ion POPA, Institutul de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale „Ion I. C. Brătianu”, Academia Română

Ion C. Brătianu - a „founding father” of modern Romania Abstract: Ion C. Brătianu (June 2, 1821 - May 4, 1891) attended the courses of the Polytechnical School of . Involved witness of the French Revolution in February 1848, he returned to his country where he actively participated in the entire local revolutionary process: he was a member of the Revolutionary Committee in Bucharest, secretary of the Provisional Government and of the Police. After the defeat of the Revolution as result of the invasion of the Russian tsarist army, he lived together with many other protagonists for a long time in exile in Paris (1849-1857), but he continued to ardently promote before European governments and public opinion the major constitutional reforms designed in 1848. Once he returned to his country, he was an active member of the Electoral Assembly who voted for the double election of as Ruler of the United Romanian Principalities. He also played a significant, „instrumental” role, it can be said, in bringing Prince Carol Hohenzollern- on the throne of the Principalities and then of the Kingdom, with whom he will form a strong „tandem” in governing Romania. A prominent member of the Constituent Assembly of 1866, Ion C. Brătianu has accomplished the „silent transaction” between liberals and conservatives based on which the Romanian Constitution was adopted, „one of the most liberal in all countries in the world” (A. D. Xenopol). The great liberal politician Ion C. Brătianu was president of the National Liberal Party since its founding in 1875, the prime minister of Romania for twelve years (1876-1888) and honorary member of the Romanian Academy since 1885. Keywords: Ion C. Brătianu, „founding father”, liberal politician, prime minister, constitutional reformer.

dr. Liviu BRĂTESCU, Institutul de Istorie „A.D. Xenopol”, Iași

King Carol I and the end of a political regime (1887-1889) Abstract: The recognition of state independence by the major European powers, subject to several clauses and the modification of the international legal status by the Proclamation of the Kingdom, had been only two of the elements that had contributed to the strengthening of the relationship between King Carol I and I.C. Brătianu. The way in which I.C. Brătianu managed to ensure cohesion of the government team and to increase the external prestige of the country, the sovereign having until identification a common vision on foreign policy with the Prime Minister, had made King Carol I understand and accept the personality and power of the liberal leader. Beyond the fact that after the moment of 1870-1871, Carol I had never had any reason to suspect or distrust of I.C. Brătianu, that contributed to the way the sovereign related to the prime minister and the respect that the latter had earned in the eyes of European diplomacy. For the Romanian monarch he had somehow become comfortable to know that he shared with the head of the liberal government the same vision of the country's internal politics and that the radical, revolutionary of yesteryear had become a politician for whom political stability was an objective in itself. The political opponents of I.C. Brătianu, conservatives and liberals of various shades, try to take advantage of certain government mistakes to undermine the solidity of the „team” Carol I - I.C. Brătianu. „United Opposition”, a heterogeneous political construction, managed to bring together important political voices, such as Lascăr Catargiu, George Vernescu, Mihail Kogălniceanu and even Dimitrie Brătianu, from 1884. In their offensive against government liberals, opposition leaders will not spare the sovereign. Many of them accredit the idea that the sovereign is no longer concerned with respecting his status as arbiter of political life and that he becomes an undisguised supporter of liberals. Such a conviction would make possible occurrence of a situation until then considered impossible, namely - the name of the sovereign and the institution he represented to become part of the opposition speech to I.C. Brătianu. No matter how much the sovereign kept working with Brătianu, his forced descent into the political arena in this way could not be accepted. Signals from outside the country showed a prime minister with a well-defined external prestige, but in the face of internal challenges however much encouragement the king had received for keeping I.C. Brătianu at the head of the government, these could no longer help him to perpetuate a political situation, that was becoming increasingly critical. The demonstrations in the spring of 1888 and the increasing forms of social discontent showed King Carol I that the time for political change had come. Understanding very well that he would not be able to expose the monarch endlessly to the criticisms of his internal opponents, I.C. Brătianu resigned in the spring of 1888 with the obvious hope that not long after the internal political context would require his return to the head of the government. After some searching, Carol I will first ask a Junimist like Th. Rosetti to form the new government, then succeed, together with conservative leaders, such as Lascar Catargiu, to find new government formulas. Thus, the events of the spring of 1888 became part of the crisis of a ruling party for 12 years and not a new crisis of political regime, the succession to government liberals- conservatives becoming a natural fact for the Romanian space. Keywords: Romania, King Carol I, Prime Minister Ion C. Brătianu, political regime, liberals, conservatives, alternation in government

dr. Sorin Sebastian DUICU, Academia Oamenilor de Ştiinţă din România

Gratitude and Dedication to the „The One who Made the Country Whole”, for „Missy” and those on the Front Line Abstract: I have chosen this topic and I intended to analyse in my own way the Romanian and international historical period at the end of the 19th century and until the beginning of the royal dictatorship, in 1930. The events start with the War for gaining the state independence of Romania, in 1877-1878, continue with First World War, 1916-1919, the Union of 1 , decided within the Grand Assembly of , where the Resolution of the Union of Transylvania, and the Hungarian country, of all Romanians inhabited by them, with Romania was adopted. The Paris Peace Treaties (1919-1920) were perfected, the one with being signed at Trianon, on 4th of June 2020, by Dr. and Nicolae Titulescu, very important reforms were made, and on the 15th of October 1922, the crowning of King Ferdinand and Queen Mary will take place at Alba Iulia. In fact, the desired content of this topic was to mention certain some fewer known facts, committed by some leaders of the time, such as the members of the royal family, Ferdinand and Mary, especially those of the Bratianu family: Ion C. Bratianu, Ion I. C. Bratianu, Dimitrie Bratianu, Vintila Bratianu, but also of Martha Bibescu and of count Charles Saint-Aulaire, as well as of the controversial P. P. Carp. It is certainly a page of foremost importance of our history, unfortunately relearned not long ago, but defining for his journey and true life. Keywords: Queen Mary, King Ferdinand, Brătianu family, Grand Assembly in Alba Iulia

Ana Maria BONCIU, cercetător independent

Queen Mary's role in the Great War from a literary and publishing perspective Abstract: The failed military campaign of 1916, the occupation of the capital and of two thirds of the country by the enemy, as well as the refuge in Iasi throw the country into a dramatic situation and there is a strong need for encouragement. Queen Mary's role in the war on a social level was overwhelming, as she is also involved in politics, and circumstances leads her to get involved on a literary level in order to give confidence and hope to Romanians. Gifted with literary talent and a rich imagination, Queen Mary was able to create literary texts, full of emotion that would touch readers` hearts. Thus, she joined the national propaganda carried out by the authorities, wrote and published articles in the newspapers of the time to encourage and raise the morale of soldiers and civilians. Queen Mary's literary and publishing activity in the Great War can therefore be divided according to the three years in which Romania participated in the conflict, each year representing a distinct phase. In 1916, the Queen figured she could also contribute to encouraging the Romanians through writing, and the action plan was drawn up together with . Since 1917, in the periodicals „Neamul Românesc” and „România - organ al apărării naționale”, which were distributed also on the front too, feature articles signed by Queen Mary of Romania, addressed to the civilian population and the soldiers, articles later published in two books, „My Country” and „From my heart to theirs”. 1917 was a difficult year in country`s history, rich in events due to the war, and, as a consequence, it was also a busy period for Maria in terms of literary and publishing activity. In 1918, however, as a result of the peace concluded by Romania with its adversaries, the Queen's propaganda writings were censored, and their number considerably reduced. This paper examines how The Queen used her literary talent for the benefit of her adopted country, the purpose she pursued and what results she achieved. The atmosphere of the period is recreated, and the writings are placed in the chronological order of the conflict to see when she composed and published these texts. All these elements are corroborated with textual analysis in order to highlight the message The Queen wished to convey through her writings. Keywords: The Great War, Queen Mary, literary activity, propaganda on the front, publishing

dr. Cristina VOHN, Institutul de Științe Politice și Relații Internaționale „Ion. I. C. Brătianu”, Academia Română

Ion I. C. Brătianu - the last great Romanian reformer Abstract: Ion I. C. Brătianu was the most imposing Romanian political personality in the first part of the 20th century. He was the president of the National Liberal Party (1909-1927) and prime minister of the Romanian government and his political activity is closely related to the political-diplomatic activity during the First World War, to the achievement of the Great Union of the Romanians in 1918 and to the reformation and modernization of the Romanian state in its new borders. „The great strategy” of the Ion I. C. Brătianu aimed to continue the work of his predecessors - who had achieved the Union of Romanian Principalities in 1859 and gaining the Independence of the Romanian state in 1877 -, by achieving the Great Union in 1918 - fulfilling the ideal of the Romanians scattered until then on the territories of the neighbouring empires – and creating a state close to the level of development and civilization of the . He announced his reform program in 1913 and it included electoral reform and agrarian reform, so much disputed by the conservative political opponents. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and the Romania’s entry into the world conflagration in 1916 postponed the plan of the Ion I. C. Brătianu, who had become the prime minister at the beginning of the 1914. In 1917, the Romanian prime minister considered it necessary to honour the promises made before the start of the world war in a constitutional form. In the refuge from Iași, the Romanian Parliament debated and amended the constitutional provisions, by registering the agrarian and electoral reforms, which provided the legal basis for the adoption of the two reforms after the end of the war: electoral reform in 1918 and the agrarian reform in 1921. The first interwar decade is known as the decade of the great reforms of the Greater Romania. This period was dominated by the liberal leader even though he was nor always in charge of the Romanian government. After the adoption of the two reforms necessary to „respond to the times in which we live”, as Ionel Brătianu said during the great liberal government (1922-1926), he implemented a comprehensive program of reforms which covers all spheres of public life. The adoption of the Constitution in 1923 was complemented – as it results from the report on the activity of the legislatures and government (1922-1926), presented by Ionel Brătianu at the end of the 4 years of government – by administrative reform, in justice, education, culture and arts, economy and finances, communications and transport, labour and social security, education, national defence. All these reforms transformed the Romanian state and placed it on a development trajectory that tended to reach the Western standards of that time. Ion I. C. Brătianu never claimed that his work was perfect but, on the contrary, he said that it „is not complete”. He was criticized and attacked by the political opponents with a hardness that is characteristic of the Romanian political struggle in all times. But his work remained as a landmark of democratic Romania, dense in great deeds and profound reforms of the Romanian society. In recent years, opinions that show the less bright facets of the interwar Romanian democracy, criticize and even contest it, the reporting of these opinions being made to the current democracy. But is this reporting correct? Can we judge the interwar democracy by today’s norms and doctrines? Democracy is a form of government that has known and still knows changes (evolutions and/or involutions) according to the specific characteristics of each historical epoch. Keywords: Ion I. C. Brătianu, political personality, National Liberal Party, First World War, electoral reform, agrarian reform.

dr. Delia BĂLĂICAN, Biblioteca Academiei Române

Vintilă Brătianu's vision of the „public vote” Summary: Vintilă Brătianu (1867 - 1930) – an important liberal politician, artist of the Great Union, with his illustrious brother, Ion I.C. Brătianu (1864 – 1927) - was recognized by both friends and opponents for his virtues and special moral qualities, especially for his high patriotism. A former mayor of the Capital, a minister on several occasions, he remarked for his respect for democracy and his efforts to build a political and economic system to support it. The famous slogan of the National Liberal Party, „by ourselves” was released by Vintilă Brătianu in 1905, under the headings of the newspaper „Voința Națională”, in the context of taking a position on the decisions of the Conservator Party to concession the state’s oil fields, railways and a lottery, measures which he considered „the expeditions of a bankrupt state”. After the 1907 Revolt he participated in the definition of agrarian legislation: the Rural House, the law of agricultural haggling, the restoration and development of the village cooperative, the communal fields. All this had to decrease the gap between the state and the peasant mass by raising living standards, including through culture and education. King Ferdinand had promised in 1916, at the mobilization of the army, the land ownership of the peasants and the public vote. During the Great War and the refuge in Iaşi, Vintilă Brătianu did not abandon the elaboration of the draft laws necessary for the organization of Greater Romania. The modernization of the Romanian state was done under the sign of the national, a complex process that required adaptation to the requirements and rhythm of developed Europe. Greater Romania had to be strengthened by a democratic Constitution, based on a balanced budget, by co- opting all categories, not only the elites, to defend and help public interests, towards a harmonious development of the country. Vintilă Brătianu practically campaigned for political activism, expected involvement from citizens, and from politicians to give people help to understand political mechanisms, as well as measures to meet the needs of the people and empower them. Keywords: Vintilă Brătianu, universal vote, democracy, Greater Romania, liberalism.

dr. Dumitru PREDA, Fundația Europeană Titulescu

Nicolae Titulescu - a life in the service of Romania 80 years after his passing into eternity Abstract: The communication is dedicated to the Statesman and Diplomat Nicolae Titulescu, eminent personality of Romania and Europe from the first half of the 19th century, an example of work and action in defence of National State independence and sovereignty achieved in 1918-1920, including his notable contribution. His deep and constructive vision on the development of international relations, especially on Romania's integration in the new post-war geo-political European architecture, by preserving its own identity and constantly promoting the national interest, his determined and clairvoyant efforts to reinforce dialogue and cooperation for peace and consolidation of relations between states and nations, is still today a bright and convincing message of his political and diplomatic legacy in the service of the beloved country and for humanity. Keywords: Nicolae Titulescu, Romania, Europa, national interest, identity

dr. Mirela Daniela TÎRNĂ, Arhivele Naționale ale României

King Mihai - childhood and adolescence Abstract: In the year of the 100th anniversary since the birth of King Mihai, this work is desired to be a foray through his childhood and adolescence. Born on October 25, 1921, Prince Mihai was the only child of the princely couple Elena - Carol. His coming into the world was a moment of great joy and hope for the Romanian monarchy, ensuring its continuity. Prince Michael spent his early years with his family, the stable landmark being his mother, Princess Elena. In this respect we have the very testimonies of the king himself. He was also surrounded by his paternal grandparents, Queen Mary and King Ferdinand, his aunts, the princesses Ileana and Elizabeth, and his uncle, Prince Nicholas, as well as relatives on his mother's side, members of the . The presence of his father was barely noticed in the early years, amid the cooling of relations between Prince Carol and Principe Elena and then their separation and divorce. All these aspects are described in period testimonies, namely passages from Queen Mary’s Diary and the correspondence of Princess Ileana with Prince Carol. The renunciation of Prince Carol's status as heir to the throne and the death of King Ferdinand brings to the throne of Romania the little Prince Mihai, at no more than 6 years of age, under the guardianship of a regency. This we illustrate using photographs and we present it in terms of the emotional impact on the child king. Three years of public appearances in the company of mother and grandmother follow at official ceremonies. During this period, King Mihai begins his private school education and discovers his passion for cars. The year 1930 marks a turning point in the existence of King Mihai due to the return of his father, who dethrones him and becomes King Carol II. Moreover, King Mihai's mother is removed and put into exile, while he remains in the custody of his father. From this point onwards, the present paper marks the stages of King Michael’s School and Military Education, aspects of private life, the relationship with his father, the trips to his mother, located in Florence, official visits, all until the time of 1940. The work is based on documents from the National Archives of Romania, the funds of the Royal House. Personal-King Michael, Royal House. Miscelanee, the Royal House. Personal-Carol II, Royal House. Personal-Principesa Ileana, Royal House. Official, the Royal House. Personal- Queen Mary, photos from the Photographic Documents Collection. In addition, the testimonies of his contemporaries – Nicolae Iorga, , as well as the school mates of King Mihai, Mircea Ioanitiu and Dan Cernovodeanu, but also the interviews of King Mihai. Keywords: King Michael, Princess/ Elena, King Charles II, childhood, education, Regency dr. Alina PAVELESCU, dr. Cristian ANIȚA, Arhivele Naționale ale României

Antoine Bibescu and Corcova Estate - Sources of a Biographical Research Abstract: Diplomat, writer or at least a dandy with a writer's ambitions, friend of Proust and protector of Mihail Sebastian, cousin of the famous Martha Bibescu and also the founder, together with his brother, Emanuel, of an experimental vineyard in Corcova-Mehedinți, Antoine Bibescu is a historical figure rather forgotten by the Romanian historians. Trying to achieve a historical research on his Corcova estate and, at the same time, on its owner's biography, we realized that gathering the sources would prove a rather difficult task, so maybe this is why historians are not yet interested in this issue. Our research started in the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the CNSAS archives and in the National Archives of Romania (less in the Central Historical Archive, where the Bibescu family fond concerns more Georges Valentine Bibescu and his wife, Martha, but more in the Mehedinți archives, where they have preserved the documents about the Corcova farm after 1945). Also, we discovered, at the Agriculture Museum in Slobozia, the most consistent archival fond concerning Corcova and, in the same time, Antoine Bibescu's family. The present paper intends to present the struggles, difficulties and discoveries made during the research process in the hope that our work can be useful to other historians and biographers. Keywords: Antoine Bibescu, diplomat, biography, Corcova farm, Mehedinți county, research

dr. Irina CÎRSTINA, Complexul Național Muzeal ,,Curtea Domnească” Târgoviște

Family portrait: Constantin Dimitriu (1872-1945), outstanding personality of Romania's political and cultural life Abstract: Constantin Dumitriu, president of the from 1935 to 1936, was a remarkable political figure with a demonstrated interest in the cultural development of his hometown, Târgoviste. We can mention his support for the work of the young historian Virgil Draghiceanu, the creation of the School of Cavalry Officers, the foundation of the museum of Targoviste, the construction of schools and libraries in some villages from Dambovita county. The currently collection of the museum from Târgoviste illustrates his life through photographs and other documents, some of which having been recently donated by his nephew, Barbu Theodorescu. Keywords: politician, administration, family, Targoviste, museum collections, interwar period

Damian Dimitriu Family at Băile Pucioasa, 1895

Constantin, Ion, Victor Dimitriu and Șerban, son of Ion, parcul Cișmigiu Park, approx.1940

Constantin Dimitriu at the opening of the school in Valea Voievozilor, 1924

dr. Corina ANDREI, Complexul Național Muzeal ,,Curtea Domnească” Târgoviște

King Carol II of Romania during the opening day of Dobrești Hydropower Plant, in Dâmbovița County Abstract: King Carol II of Romania had the opportunity to visit several times Dambovita County (first in 1909, and during his reign: on 17th of July 1930, on 15th of June 1933 and on 1st of July 1939). Thus, on 17th of July 1930, King Carol II of Romania paid his first official visit to Târgoviște together with Prince Nicholas of Romania, Prime-minister , , , C. Basarab Brancoveanu, I. Lugojanu, Dem I. Dobrescu the Mayor of Bucharest and C. Ilasievici the General. He then went forward to inaugurate the Dobrești Hydropower Plant (the first major hydropower plant around the country, built in 1928-1930 and serving as electricity supplier for the capital Bucharest). The mayor flooded the whole city with posters and flyers, thus spreading the news among the citizens about the event. The citizens „were persistently asked to hoist flags and to decorate their houses with crowns” on the Royal Boulevard, as suggested by the poster from 16th of July 1930, signed by Mayor Gonzalov Ionescu. It wasn’t long before that the citizens were yet again informed that „the route has been changed by higher order interfering”. Given the new circumstance, „whoever wants to follow His Majesty to Pietrosita, should get to Targoviste or Teis railway stations in order to go aboard and head to Pietrosita by train”, adding that „this round-trip was free of charge”. In his speech, King Carol II of Romania pointed that „it was with great pleasure that I received your invitation to attend the opening of Dobresti hydropower plants”. The local newspapers enlarged upon King Carol’s visit to Dobresti hydropower plant and described the event in different ways. Thus, „Acțiunea nouă” („The New Direction”), a national peasant’ newspaper, described the meaning of the above-mentioned visit and criticized the liberals for refusing to attend the event and welcome the king. In the meantime, the liberal newspaper „Viitorul Damboviței” („The Future of Dambovița County”) was expressing its upset towards the authorities for „not considering to follow the protocol and make an invitation for the Opposition leaders to join the festivities in Dobresti.” Following our research, we discovered at National Archives of Romania, headquartered in Bucharest, a number of eight photos (credited to Iosif Berman), depicting unique information on the visit paid on 17th of July 1930. These visits to Dambovita County paid by Romanian kings, as well as members of the Royal Family, provide unique historical information and shed some light upon certain aspects regarding the city, such as: road & historical monuments and military units’ conditions. Keywords: King Carol II, visits to Dâmbovița county, the hydropower plant of Dobresti, the newspapers from Târgoviște

Regele Carol II, principele Nicolae, primul ministru Iuliu Maniu, Târgoviște, 17 iulie 1930

Inaugurarea Uzinei Electrice de la Dobrești, 17 iulie 1930

CULTURAL PERSONALITIES

dr. Maria CERNAT, Universitatea „Titu Maiorescu”

Sofia Nădejde - important personality of Romanian culture Abstract: In 1978 Victor Vișinescu brings for the first time in front of the readers a detailed chronological table based on a thorough documentation, that helped him to reconstruct the existential path of Sofia Nădejde. Sofia Nădejde was born on September 14, 1856. Those who dealt with Sofia Nădejde's biography indicated different years, but the meticulous Victor Vișiescu searched the State Archives and discovered her birth certificate. Sofia was the first of the four children of the Băncilă couple. Sofia Nădejde enrolled at the end of primary school with the help of an uncle, the priest Ioan Băncilă, at the girls' pension in Botoșani, a pension under the leadership of Mrs. Glowaska. She was always rewarding and stands out with great results in teaching. In 1873 Ion Nădejde took his baccalaureate with brilliant results and became a substitute teacher. In 1874, Victor Vișinescu notes that he identified the first correspondence between Sofia Nădejde and Ion Nădejde. Sofia Nădejde has published over 1500 pages of the best quality literature. It is undoubtedly interesting to note that, for example, the novel Patimi, published in its entirety after appearing in fragments in the pages of Universul, was published in a special edition in 1903, when the winner of the first prize of the magazine and an amount of 1 800 lei. Cancel this, decades after its first appearance, the novel Patimi was republished by Răzvan Andrei at Publisol. Likewise, the texts of a great activist commitment proving an extraordinarily mature thinking as well as the daring answers offered to Titu Maiorescu who claimed that women are inferior because they have smaller brains, were republished only in 2019, almost 140 years after which saw the light of day in the magazine Contemporanul. Why do we ignore our personalities and include in the literary canons only a small part of the valuable cultural personalities? It is a question to which we will hardly be able to find an answer. But what we can find is a way to get closer to Sofia Nădejde and her writings. Keywords: Sofia Nădejde, Patimi, Universul, Titu Maiorescu, Ion Nădejde

dr. Ian BROWNE, cercetător independent

On the heights of Nietzsche’s despair – Cioran’s misreading of Nietzsche Abstract: Nietzsche was largely ignored during his lifetime, and subsequently, in the early years of the twentieth century was widely misread and misunderstood. Cioran first read Nietzsche in , as a teenager. Nietzsche is a complex and difficult philosopher, whose ideas are hard to understand. Cioran wrote On the Heights of Despair in four months, beginning the book when he was just 21 years old. The influence of Nietzsche is immediately obvious to the reader. In this book Cioran writes about suffering, despair, and those intense subjective states of experience which he believes give rise to metaphysical revelation. I will not concern myself with these aspects of Cioran’s book. My focus is exclusively on Cioran’s nihilism, and its relationship to the ideas found in Part III of Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals. There Nietzsche discusses the ascetic ideal. Nietzsche saw philosophy as positing a metaphysical realm, which was more real than the ordinary everyday world we inhabit. For Plato this was the realm of Forms, and Nietzsche saw Christianity as „Platonism for the masses”, with ultimate reality now being found in God’s presence rather than in the realm of the Forms. This metaphysical realm, Platonic or Christian, was both superior to our earthly one and it gave meaning and value to life on earth. Nietzsche predicted that a secular version of what he called the priestly ideal would emerge. The unfortunate development predicted by Nietzsche would be a new, secular, philosophical version of the ascetic ideal, reliant upon the same idea of a metaphysical realm which Platonism and Christianity adopted, but upon the significance of its absence rather than the significance of its presence. I shall argue that this version of the ascetic ideal, built on the sense of loss due to the absence of the metaphysical realm, underpins Cioran’s nihilism. Nietzsche foresaw this kind of nihilism and devoted much of his writing to warning against it and offering arguments to counter it. Nietzsche saw the secular version of the ascetic ideal as a form of disguised resentment directed against life, an intellectual attempt to take revenge on life. According to Nietzsche, this resentment is the source of „the will to nothingness, nihilism”. I propose to examine just one book by Cioran, On the Heights of Despair, to show that Cioran’s nihilism was the philosophical, secular equivalent of the priestly ascetic, whose arrival Nietzsche had predicted, and that Cioran’s book, and some subsequent comments to be found in the Caiete, indicate that Cioran’s nihilism is based on a serious misunderstanding of Nietzsche, rather than an understanding of Nietzsche. Keywords: Cioran, Nietzsche, On the Heights of Despair, the ascetic ideal, nihilism, resentment

dr. Doru TOMPEA, Universitatea „Petre Andrei” din Iași

A devoted intellectual: Petre Andrei Abstract: It is no less true that extremism, both, left and right, represented in the first three decades of the 20th century a real danger, perceived synthetically by Petre Andrei: „The fascist dictatorship is not essentially different from the Bolshevik dictatorship, because in both and Russia it is oppressive and abusive. The and fascists created a monopoly of power in favor of the party and their class; they imposed themselves by force, overriding the law, which is a fact of exceptional gravity, for they proclaimed the primacy of force over legal law. However, at any time, in such a condition, greater forces can be found, which can overthrow the leader, and then the connection, security, authority, state are abolished. State authority was deeply shaken by fascism”. Keywords: dictatorship, Bolshevism, fascism, democracy, state REFORMS OF MODERN ROMANIA (19th - 20th centuries)

dr. Ioana DRĂGULIN, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

Romanian and Romania in the autochthonous culture during the creation of the modern state (1859-1920) Abstract: The national revolutions of 1848 produced the cultural shock that feudal societies in continental Europe needed in order to break with the status quo model. In the Romanian case, the impact was even stronger in the conditions in which at that historical moment the Romanian nation and state existed only from an ideological point of view. A century followed in which the elites from the intra and extra Carpathian space created a unitary culture in which we find the fundamental elements of the modern state. It is the period in which it appears, develops and is structured, a culture in which we find all the major European currents. In the Romanian space, in painting, art, literature, poetry, theatre, architecture, etc. we find an interesting mixture between the local popular traditions and the influences of the western culture, which created the national culture. Keywords: 1848, feudal societies, ideology, Romanian, Romania

dr. Aurelian Virgil BĂLUŢĂ, Universitatea Spiru Haret

Management of public finances and the national economy during the Constitutional Monarchy in Romania (1866-1947) Abstract: The article aims to make a synthesis of Romania's public policies and projects during the constitutional monarchy in the fields of finance and economy. Although in Romania the rules of the market economy functioned throughout the constitutional monarchy, the state authorities, including the King, intervened through instruments specific to each period in order to change the economic model according to development needs. In addition to the elements valid for the entire period of the constitutional monarchy, the article presents the particularities of each stage in the evolution of public finances and the national economy in relation to the vision of the governing act. The experience gained and the personal particularities of each of the Kings of Romania, but especially the exigencies and restrictions of each period, decisively marked the exact content of the tools used for the management of public finances and the national economy. Keywords: public finances; national economy; development; management; public projects and policies.

dr. Simion CÂLȚIA, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București

Opposition to modernization. Case study - the failure of tram electrification under the mayor Barbu Delavrancea Abstract: Our paper aims to analyse a neglected aspect of the process of Romanian modernization: the resistances and oppositions encountered, by studying a specific case: the unsuccessful attempt of electrification of Bucharest tramways under the mayor Barbu Delavrancea. In the first part of our presentation, we will discuss in a synthetic manner the opposition against tramways, and especially electric ones, in the rest of the world, emphasising the main characteristics of the phenomenon. In the second part of our research, we will analyse the intense debates which took place in the City Council regarding the proposed contract for electrification of existing Bucharest trams lines. We will investigate specially the form in which the opposition to modernisation manifest in the councillor discourses. Taking as a base the synthesis of the opposition to tramways exposed in the first part of our paper, we will integrate the Bucharest case in the international phenomenon. Keywords: Barbu Delavrancea, mayor of Bucharest, tramways electrification, City Council

dr. Ștefania DINU, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

The reforms of Greater Romania: the agrarian reform of 1921 Motto: You will be given land! I, your King, will be the first to give an instance, you will also be given a wide participation in the affairs of the state! King Abstract: Before the outbreak of , the agrarian problem was one that needed to be regulated, especially since in the time between 1864 and 1914, agriculture was characterized by the lack of land or its insufficiency, taxation or other debts that burdened land and other properties, and other factors with a negative impact on economic development and the living standard of the population. Towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, a series of social movements and turmoil of the peasantry took place on the territory of Romania, which took on various forms. For example, between 1887 and 1888, more than 300 peasant actions took place throughout the country, culminating in the great peasant uprising of 1907. At that time there was an unequal distribution of property (1 million peasants owned less than 3 million hectares, while 1000 landowners owned 4 million hectares) along with the extension of the lease, the large estates of over 1000 hectares being controlled by tenants in proportion of over 75%. On January 4th, 1914, Ion I. C. Brătianu became president of the Council of Ministers. On December 3rd, 1916, in a letter he sent to King Ferdinand I, Brătianu suggested that the king declare that the soldiers fighting on the front, mostly peasants, would be given land at the end of the war. As a result, in order to enliven the soldiers and raise their morale, King Ferdinand I went to the Moldavian front, to Răcăciuni (Bacău) where, on March 23th, 1917, he read in front of the officers and soldiers of the Second Army, The proclamation whereby he promised the ownership of the peasants: "You sons of the peasants who defended with your arm the land where you were born, where you grew up, I , your King, tell you, that in addition to the great reward of victory which assures each of you the gratitude of our whole nation, you have at the same time won the right to rule to a greater extent the land on which you have fought. I, your King, will be the first to give an example. You will also be given a large share in the affairs of the state. " In 1917, Ion I. C. Brătianu considered that the end of the war should not be waited for the two reforms to be inscribed in the Constitution. Thus, in June 1917, the parliamentary debates on the revision of the Constitution took place in Iasi, in order to carry out the reforms meant to contribute to the modernization of the Romanian society. As a result, the two Legislative Bodies: the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate began discussions on the draft revision of the Constitution by amending Articles 19, 57 and 67, which establish the adoption of agrarian reform by expropriating large property and introducing universal suffrage. On December 16th, 1918, the Decree-Law regarding the expropriation for a cause of national utility was published in the Official Gazette, in accordance with art. 19, paragraph 5 of the Constitution. In May 1921, King Ferdinand I signed the messages for the debate of the agrarian law projects elaborated by the government, and which were within the limits established by the Constituent Assembly from Iași from 1917. Based on the law of the agrarian reform for the Old Kingdom (Oltenia, Muntenia, Moldavia and Dobrogea), published in the Official Gazette on July 17th, 1921, the cultivable areas larger than 100 hectares were declared expropriated. According to the law, the following were expropriated: the Crown domains, the domains of the Royal House, the institutions, the rural properties of the foreign subjects and of the absentees. Priority in ownership was given to war- disabled, war widows, priests and teachers who did not own land, who owned less than 5 hectares, or who had not been owned until the enactment of the law of July 17th, 1921. In Transylvania, the realization of a "radical" agrarian reform in order to own and ensure the existence of the peasants, was found in the Resolution of Alba Iulia of December 1st, 1918, being a condition of the union of Transylvania with the . The law partially expropriated the land cultivated by the owner, if it exceeded the surface: 50 jugs in the mountains; 100 jugs on the hill; 200 jugs on plain in regions with high demand for ownership; 300 jugs in plain in the regions with medium ownership applications; 500 jugs in plain in regions with fulfilled ownership claims. According to art. 2 of the law, the expropriation applies to all owners without taking into account their legal quality or nationality: corporations, foundations, institutions, churches, monasteries, capitals, universities, schools, hospitals, counties, communes, rural land of absentees (absentees being considered the one who from December 1st, 1918 until the submission of the law was absent from the country even one day without having any official assignment abroad, except for rural properties up to 50 jugs). The law was published in the Official Gazette, no. 93, July 30th, 1921. In Bucovina, according to the decision of the National Council, rural properties were declared expropriated for public utility purposes, in order to "increase the extent of peasant property, to establish communal pastures, as well as for purposes of general, economic and cultural interest." According to art. 3 of the law, the expropriation affected the property regardless of the quality of the owner, and through art. 5 the rural properties were declared expropriated entirely, regardless of character and extent, of all legal persons under public law, without considering any clause to the contrary. The law for the agrarian reform in Bucovina was published in the Official Gazette, no. 93, July 30th, 1921. The law for the agrarian reform in Basarabia was adopted by the Country Council in the plenary session of November 26th-27th, 1918 and issued by Royal Decree no. 3,791 of December 22nd, 1918. The basic principle of the reform, as conceived and approved by the Country Council, was the abolition of large property in exchange for fair compensation, the maintenance of medium- sized property and the consolidation of small peasant property. By law, about 1,100,000 hectares of arable land were declared expropriated from private property in Basarabia, an area for the establishment of which everything that exceeded 100 hectares of arable land was expropriated from each owner. Therefore, for the Old Kingdom, Transylvania, Bucovina and Basarabia the legislators drafted different agrarian laws, taking into account the existing social situations in the four provinces. Therefore, the agrarian reform in Basarabia, as well as in Transylvania, had a more radical character than in the Old Kingdom and Bucovina. The agrarian laws, in all provinces, established the implementing bodies of the agrarian reform: The Local Committee and The Land Committee. The final execution of the expropriation and its application on the ground was carried out by the County Commissions for expropriation or The Land Commissions whose final decisions were executed by The Land Directorate, who determines the expropriated part on the ground, permanently establishing its boundaries. The expropriated land was valued and set a price ("valuation"), settled by net income per hectares and according to the quality of the land and did not exceed the rental prices set by the regional commissions for the years 1917-1922. The main authority taking in the expropriated land until it was plotted and sold was the Central House of Ownership. This authority leased the expropriated land to peasants, until the final possession and issuance of property titles. Regarding the method of payment, the expropriated owner received the price either in cash or in amortizable annuity in 50 years and with interest of 5% per year. The payment of the price was made only on the basis of the decisions of expropriation and fixing of the price that remained final: 80% of the immediate value, and the rest according to the final title deed, for which the state paid an interest of 5%. Following the agrarian reform, the peasants acquired arable land, received titles of final ownership of the land, which allowed them to improve their living conditions and no longer depend on large landowners, large estates with thousands of hectares of land shrinking. More than 6 million hectares were expropriated, of which almost 4 million hectares of arable land, meaning 66% of the area owned by large landowners and about 2 million peasant families received land throughout the country, within the borders of 1918. The agrarian reform of 1921 generated important transformations in the structure of the Romanian economy. The expropriation reduced the large land ownership, while the large landowners lost their economic and political power. The small peasant property became primary, the medium one, although smaller, acquired a greater significance, and the large property was substantially reduced, to 10-15%. The Royal House, in turn, gave up much of the agricultural property it managed. Keywords: agrarian reform, King Ferdinand, Ion I.C. Brătianu, expropriation, ownership.

dr. Mihai GHIŢULESCU, Universitatea din Craiova, Departamentul de Istorie, Ştiinţe Politice şi Relaţii Internaţionale

Five Electoral Reform Projects in Interwar Romania Abstract: After three rounds of general elections organized according to different rules from one province to another, the liberal cabinet of Ion I.C. Brătianu unified the electoral system of Greater Romania by the Law of March 27, 1926, whose genesis is still unclear, but whose effects were obvious from the very beginning. This has been harshly criticized by the opposition since the draft stage (which was quite far from the final form). Beyond partisan rhetoric, the great reproaches can be summarized as follows: (1) By “distributing the seats to political groups at the country level” (art. 89), a national constituency was created, violating art. 65 of the Constitution (“The election of deputies is made on constituencies. The constituency cannot be larger than one county”). (2) The granting of the electoral bonus violated the “one man, one vote” principle, as the votes for the “majority group” had a higher value than those for the “minority groups”. (3) Establishment of a “dictatorship of the parties”, by prohibiting independent candidacies and losing the seat in case of transition from one party to another. (4) The anomaly of the distribution of seats by counties. To these, various other issues were added, e.g., the non-granting of electoral rights to women, the large number of MPs, the allowing of multiple candidacies etc. It was expected that once the government was changed, the law would be changed. After the National Peasant Party came to power, there were several attempts, between 1929 and 1933, but all failed, for a number of reasons. In this paper, I do not want so much a presentation of the context and of the political games that made reform impossible (although, obviously, they cannot be avoided), but an analysis of the projects brought into the public debate. I propose a rather technical discussion, from which it can be seen how / how much the details of the electoral system in force and their consequences on political life were understood at the time. Beyond the democratization intentions, the goals were slightly different, and I will try to show to what extent each project could have produced the results desired by the initiators (Gr. Graur, Eduard Mirto [two projects], Pamfil Şeicaru, Vasile Toncescu). Keywords: electoral system, reform, electoral bonus, Gr. Graur, E. Mirto, V. Toncescu.

drd. Gabriel DOLINSCHI, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative

Short history of the elections - universal vote, the basis of democracy in inter-war Romania 1918-1937 Abstract: The study deals with electoral issues from the perspective of the genesis and evolution of electoral processes in the Romanian society. It focuses on the inter-war period 1918- 1937, when ten rounds of parliamentary elections were organised and held in Romania. I used secondary sources, namely selective bibliography from which I gathered a large amount of data, which was selected and analysed, resulting the information material that would form the basis of the approach. The data obtained were alternatively subjected to quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to summarize the electoral processes during that period, because of the vast nature of this topic. The introductory part addresses the history of Romanian elections and the growing importance of electoral processes in close connection with the transformations brought about by the French Revolution. The spread of Western ideas into Romanian society has generated the struggle to assert identity and ideals of national unity and self-determination. From this perspective, the study addresses the direct and related issues of electoral and political systems in the inter-war period, trying to explain the interdependence of the two systems: the electoral system and the political parties’ system. Following this plan of reciprocal conditionality of the two systems based on the universal suffrage, it can be argued that in inter-war Romania the electoral reform was the basis for all the subsequent reforms: constitutional, agricultural, administrative, educational etc. The beneficial impact of the electoral reform lies not only in the speed with which it was implemented and enforced, but it must be seen as the basis for democratic electoral steps in logical succession: vote – legitimacy – mandates – parliamentary majority – governance – political programs generating social cohesion that strengthened the Romanian state. During the eighteen years of inter-war democracy, universal suffrage boosted political and social life until 1937, when begins the “Collapse of the fragile democracy between the totalitarian giants”. Keywords: elections; universal suffrage; reform; electoral processes; political parties; electoral system.

Cătălin MANEA, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

Situation of the land ownership of the Romanian state after the agrarian reform of 1921 Abstract: The modern Romanian state has been one of the largest landowners in the country since its establishment. Prior to the application of the procedures for the adoption of the agrarian reform, these lands were divided between the Crown Domains and other state institutions: ministries, schools, hospitals, rural and urban communes. The situation of these lands differed after the great agrarian reform of 1921. Many agricultural lands were transferred to the landless peasants, many other lands remained in the use of state structures. The Crown Domains also underwent multiple transformations. For the most part, the forests and estates that had become model farms remained in its administration. Each newly attached province brought with it a multitude of properties, that belonged to the former states. They had different legal conditions and legislation on their administration had to be harmonized. Transylvania and had the most numerous areas that the former states had administered. The new agrarian laws approved in 1921 were intended to transfer these properties to the Romanian state, to harmonies the legislation with that existing in Romania and to comply with the amendments on property, which had been included in the Paris peace treaties. Keywords: Romania, lands of the state, agrarian reform, The Crown Domains, administration.

conf.univ.dr. Andrei Florin SORA, Facultatea de Istorie Universitatea București

A Long-Awaited Law: The 1923 „Statute” of Civil Servants Abstract: The creation of Greater Romania in 1918 was not complete without international recognition, the organization of parliamentary elections and the adoption of a Constitution and of a uniform and modern legislation. A long-awaited desideratum was the adoption of a law on civil servants, that should lay down the rights, the obligations, the admissibility and advancement conditions in public offices. In fact, before 1923 there is no official definition of the public servants and those who were part of this body. The civil servants were agents of institutional modernization, but the administration and the public function should have gone through this process first. Although this paper will include a brief presentation of the internal context, the legislative process, the institutions involved and the main stipulations of this law, the main objective is to present and analyse to what degree the demands and claims of the associations and public servants are found in the text of the 1923 Law. I will also refer to the negotiations between the Ion I.C. Brătianu government and the civil servants’ associations, which involved tense situations, such as the strike launched on April 22, 1923 by several public servants. Keywords: Greater Romania, public services, status of civil servants, law on civil servants.

drd. Dacian VASINCU, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative

Evolution or parliamentary involution - comparison between the first Parliament of Romania after the Great Union of 1918 and the current parliamentarism Abstract: The present study is a brief analysis of the evolution of Romanian parliamentarism, starting from the organization and the political impact of the first Parliament of the Great Romania after the end of the First World War and the national reunification. Using the comparative technique and the SWOT diagnostic analysis I will try to have a comparison between what was 100 years ago and what happens according to the current Legislative structure of the 2016- 2020 mandates. The main premises of the article are based on the political configuration after the First World War, a brief history of the realities of that time and the impact of the decisions of those years on future generations. The justification of these premises is also evidenced by the data taken from the reality of then and now. The conclusions of the scientific study will take into consideration the interpretation given by the diagnostic analyses used, in order to highlight the evolution or the involution of the objectives of the political class in the last one hundred years. Keywords: parliamentary parties, The Great Union of Romania, The National Liberal Party, The National Peasants’ Party, Conservative Party.

dr. Jănel TĂNASE, Academia Forțelor Aeriene „Henri Coandă” Cristian MANOLACHI, Statul Major al Forțelor Aeriene

Air battle for the liberation of Basarabia. First day of war of the air combat group - 22nd of june 1941 Abstract: The dramatic events of the summer of 1940, which led to the disintegration of Greater Romania, ended up with special institutional actions to consolidate what was left of the unitary Romanian state, especially the country's armed arm, the fundamental instrument of reconstruction, in favourable conditions, including through arms, of what we had been forced to give up. Under these conditions, the reconstruction of the Romanian Royal Air Force in doctrine, organization, staffing, endowment and training was the mainstay of the rebirth of the Romanian Army, an action launched immediately after the installation of General at the helm of Romania. Aware of the aeronautics issue, being patented as an air observer with the first series of staff officers around Romania's entry into the First World War, through the measures adopted in the first months of government, the head of state, together with an exceptional aeronautical elite, managed to imprints force on the air weapon and turns it into a veritable fighting tool, indispensable to the state and the army, in turbulent times of war. With a modern combat doctrine, framed and trained at the level of belligerent aviation, the large units and air units were deployed, to finalize the instruction for combat on the aerodromes from Poarta Focșanilor and Buzău County, the airport network masking the device and action plans, such as and conducting the air operation by surprise. The main air force destined for the actions of the Romanian Army east of the Prut was the Air Combat Group, at the disposal of the ground and sea structures being distributed air commanding units and specialized aviation structures for action in the tactical field. Until the introduction into operation of the Air Combat Group, the main operative planning documents were elaborated and transmitted, the Operative Directive no. 34, Telegraphic Order no. 1001 and the Telegraphic Order no. 1010, which foresaw the launch of the air operation at dawn on June 22, with the border crossing simultaneously by all scout and bombing expeditions at 4 o'clock in the morning. With 3 bombing fleets, a fighter flotilla, a scout squadron and a liaison squadron, having 253 aircraft at disposal, of which 205 available, insured for in-flight combat actions by 208 crews, the expeditions of the Air Combat Group of bombing, hunting and scouting, on June 22, 1941, "At dawn, at 4 o'clock, when the night was still in the middle of the morning rays, when eyes were barely shaking their sleep, with an unrestrained enthusiasm, they rushed into nothingness, crossed the Prut - the temporary border - and hit in the whirlpool of their engines, the bloody and polluted sky of Basarabia ". The independent actions launched by surprise by the large units and units of the Air Combat Group on the first day of the war were completed on July 4, 1941 with a significant result, consisting of 189 aircraft and a large number of other enemy military objectives destroyed, conquering air supremacy in the area between the Prut and the Nistru, south of the Ungheni- Chisinau alignment, but also with painful staff sacrifices, counting 34 officers, 22 non- commissioned officers, 7 foremen, 23 troops. Their heroic loss, a symbol of unwavering determination was an example for the comrades, who persevering in the belief of the final victory, will continue the missions of fighting with the transition to the next stage, of direct support of the ground forces in the decisive stages of operations. The results obtained by the Romanian Royal Air Force since the first day of the war validated the organizational and combat model adopted, ensuring the fulfillment of the strategic objective of liberating Basarabia, as well as the subsequent elimination of action possibilities on the left flank of the combat device, by eliminating enemy forces, heavily deployed in the region. Keywords: aeronautics, squadron, flotilla, air group, air operation.

INTERBELIC EUROPE – EVOLUTION DIRECTIONS IN POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PLAN

dr. Mihai MILCA, Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative

Great Romania - historical opportunities and geopolitical challenges in the post- Trianon period (extensive borders, massive demographic influxes, political- institutional and administrative reconfigurations, ethnic minorities with irredentist pretensions, security tensions in the surrounding areas) Abstract: The conclusion of hostilities between the Entente and the and the signing of the Peace Treaties between the winners and losers at Versailles, Saint Germain, Neuilly, Sèvres and Trianon were not likely to pacify Europe and allow the establishment of a reliable continental architecture, beyond frustrations and resentments, vain ambitions and expansionist and exclusive illusions. Europe's borders have been redrawn not only in line with the claims of the great triumphant powers but also in response to the legitimate expectations of nations and nationalities reflected to a considerable extent in the generous project put forward by US President W. Wilson. The old empires (Tsarist, Habsburg, Ottoman) disintegrated and the German one suffered drastic amputations. The successor beneficiary states had from the beginning to deal with the hostility of the losing camp in the state-national register and with the Bolshevik internationalist subversion against the background of devastating social and class battles, which led to increasing insecurity and political destabilization on the scale of the old continent. For the Kingdom of Romania, all this period from the beginning of the 1920s was a stage in which the long-awaited chances and opportunities for the realization of the ideal of national unity followed one another in a hasty development, marked by the effects of external decisions emanating from former allies and geopolitical challenges due to the opponents of the reunited country who acted in all directions. The translated borders of Great Romania had to be recognized from the point of view of international law and protected from diversionary infiltrations, direct armed attacks or revisionist actions promoted systemically in the political-diplomatic plan. Romania's territorial and demographic growth as a result of the Trianon Peace Treaty and other related documents requires on the other hand an internal political effort of political-administrative integration and homogenization, institutional reorganization, consolidation and constitutional, legislative, cultural-educational reform, etc. Romania - as a unitary nation state - on the other hand had to take into account a regime of national minorities ensured in accordance with the principles of the . Although the Romanian state granted citizens belonging to the cohabiting national minorities broad rights and civil liberties, not a few organizations, complaining about their non-compliance, systematically carried out activities hostile to Romania with irredentist, chauvinistic, destabilizing character, which poisoned relations with neighbouring countries and fuelled a climate disregarding and abolishing the content of the Peace Treaties that occurred during the First World War. Keywords: Trianon, borders, ethnic minorities, Greater Romania, irredentism, revisionism dr. Angelo CHIELLI, Universitatea „Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italia

Hermann Heller’s interpretation of fascism Abstract: Hermann Heller (1891-1933) was one of the most important constitutionalists of Weimar Germany. In contrast to his better-known colleagues (C. Schmitt, H. Kelsen, Rudolf Smend, Hugo Preuss), Heller’s work did not have an equal echo, despite the fact that his writings – such as the essay entitled Die Souveräinität, published in 1926 – provoked a wide-ranging debate among German public lawyers and their undoubted scientific value. Although he is a technician, Heller always takes great care to highlight the theoretical assumptions and political objectives of his research. An eccentric writer with respect to the prevailing trends in political and legal philosophy of his time, he was also eclectic, ready to use materials from a variety of sources, provided they were congenial to his own work. This talk will focus on Heller’s essay, Europa und der Fascismus, published in in 1931. It is both a political manifesto and a scientific analysis. In this essay, in fact, the German constitutionalist sets himself the political objective of discrediting, by means of a scrupulous examination, the alleged fascist theories and ideologies. The aim is to reconstruct Hermann Heller’s thought, showing the multiple cultural matrices, the ideological background and identifying the most fragile points of his interpretation of European fascism. Finally, Heller’s interpretation will be placed in the overall panorama of the readings that historians, philosophers and political scientists have provided on the fascist phenomenon, highlighting its originality. Keywords: fascism, Hermann Heller, Weimar Republic, constitutionalism, liberalism

dr. Sabin DRĂGULIN, Universitatea „Petre Andrei”, Iași

Petre Andrei and the analysis of fascism Abstract: Petre Andrei was one of the very few Romanian sociologists who, writing in the first half of the last century, immediately knew an international receptivity. Published in 1927, the study Fascism might seem, at the time, a minor critique of the "new world" for the edification of which had enlisted with "thought" and "deed" a whole series of intellectual markers of the time, such as , Constantin Noica, , Emil Cioran and so many others, both in Europe and in Romania. The young Petre Andrei - he was 36 years old in 1927, when with an extraordinary intellectual lucidity, he predicted the political evil that fascism would produce - the "error" of opposing the political current maintained and admired by the leaders of the "interwar paradise" was not forgiven to him: on October 4, 1940, Petre Andrei committed suicide in order not to surrender to the legionaries who had come to arrest him. Keywords: Petre Andrei, sociologist, fascism, intellectual, critic dr. Ursula OLLENDORF, Universitatea „Aldo Moro” din Bari

Germany in the period between the two Great Wars Abstract: The period between the two Great Wars in Germany is characterized by major contradictions that, nonetheless, make it very interesting, be it for historic-scientific research as well as for the socio-political evaluation of the country as it is today. It is an analysis of Germany of that historical period in an international context that highlights a compelling value of internationality which, in the end, proved to be more resistant than nationalism. But it also wants to render homage to the many people who paid with their lives the failure of this first attempt at the idea of democracy. After a delineation of the defeat following the First World War and the Paris Treaties, which left Germany in a disastrous situation both economically and politically, attention is turned to the country from within. On August 14, 1919, the Constitution of Weimar came into force, which was valid until Hitler took over on January 30, 1933. A notable element of this Constitution was surely the active and passive right to vote for German women. For the analysis of the narratives of extremes between a reactionary bourgeoisie and strong left-wing elements of this period (here, keep in mind that the sailors’ rebellion had led to the fall of the Monarchy), the article closely examines the first school of design, “the Bauhaus”, founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, uniting two academies of the very city of Weimar. Gropius considers the Bauhaus more of a “laboratory” rather than a school, where teachers and students influence each other. This was a didactic method that resulted in being historically a great success worldwide. Not only did they work with new materials such as glass, steel, aluminum and cement, but also made fundamental changes in the production of objects and housing for the people. Furthermore, in congruence with the Constitution, Gropius launched the idea of equal rights between men and women, resulting in enrolling more women than men. The inhabitants of the provincial city of Weimar, however, frowned upon the cheerful community of Bauhaus people where, for example, jazz music could be heard during “teaching” parties. In 1926 the Institute had to move to Dessau, and it seemed that Gropius gave up on his own idea regarding women’s rights, admitting then, only a third of women students and limiting them to textile work. Following the history of the three locations of Bauhaus, Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, we simultaneously trace the history of the Republic of Weimar. Wherever Hitler won the votes, Bauhaus had to shut down. Finally, to honor the women’s talents, three of the many women important for the Bauhaus style were: Friedl Dicker, who died on October 9, 1944 in Auschwitz, Gunta Stölzl, who died on April 22, 1983 in Küsnacht, , and Ilse Gropius, who died on June 9, 1983 in Lexington, Massachusetts (USA). The Bauhaus women represent the idea that led to concrete examples of architecture and design spread throughout the world, and this is the testament proving that an idea cannot be liquidated. Keywords: The Republic of Weimar, Bauhaus, The Constitution of Weimar, Internationality, the women’s right to vote

dr. Florian RĂPAN, Universitatea Creştină „Dimitrie Cantemir”

Geopolitics of Romania in Interwar Europe Abstract: The dispute for the control or sovereignty of some spaces of economic or geostrategic interest led, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, to the appearance of new realities in the sphere of international relations. The growing interdependencies in international life, the frequent upheavals in the balance of power on a global scale, as well as the efforts of politicians to find solutions to the extremely complex problems that manifested themselves in Europe and the world at the beginning of the twentieth century, imposed definitely geopolitics in contemporary society as a permanent phenomenon. The study of this phenomenon was self-evident, for practical reasons. In Romania, although it did not know the development and interest it enjoyed in Germany and the Anglo-Saxon world, geopolitics was a point of attraction for geographers, historians and sociologists. A group of famous intellectuals founded a magazine in 1941 (Geopolitics and Geohistory. Romanian journal for Southeast Europe) through which they entered into a dialogue with renowned geopolitical politicians in Europe. The studies published in this journal addressed issues related to the sphere and object of geopolitics, but also attempts to develop "geopolitical representations" of the Romanian space. Favored by Romania's geostrategic position after 1918, in the area of interference and interaction between Central European (Austro-Hungarian), Balkan (Turkish and Slavic) and Eastern European (Russian and Ukrainian), Romanian geopolitics put the factor at the centre of its concerns developing as geopolitics of the nation and the nation-state. The international treaties of a hundred years ago changed the state geography in Europe by foreshadowing what would happen over the century in various regions of the globe - movements of national and political independence, decolonization. The principles of the declaration of the US President, , guided a course of deeds towards national sovereignty for many peoples, including the Romanians who lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Transylvania. Europe has been ravaged for centuries by misunderstandings between large states, by rivalries springing from what we call the „balance of power”. The interwar period marked the beginning of a decade in which our country would really matter on the European political scene. The landmarks of the Romanian geopolitical thinking will be claimed in all this period from the necessities of the time, identifying themselves by the purely defensive orientation of the studies. The main guidelines of the Romanian geopolitical thought, for that period, will be oriented in defence of the recently acquired status of unitary national state. External threats will be answered with studies aimed at the continuity of the Romanian people in the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic area. Our "expansionist" policy will be reflected in Romanian geopolitical studies, in the form of the desire to identify a recognized position in the regional and continental framework. Romanian geopolitics will be in defence of Romanian national values. In Romania, during the interwar period, in the general context of scientific effervescence, the Romanian school of geopolitics was born in Bucharest. This new discipline is related to the personality of the great geographer Simion Mehedinţi (1869-1963), who through his contribution laid the foundations of Romanian geopolitical thinking. Keywords: Romania, Europe, geopolitics, balance of power dr. Luminița KOHALMI, Universitatea Creștină „Dimitrie Cantemir” București

Romania's security policy in the period between the First and Second World War - collective security Abstract: Collective security, a concept supported and promoted by Romanian diplomacy after the First World War, remains the main catalyst of our country's foreign and security policy. This article contains an analysis of the political actions carried out under the liberal idealist frame, as well as the theoretical contributions that Romania has made to the development of an international system of peaceful conflict resolution between the first and second World War. Even if the internationalist liberal paradigm was not in focus between 1939 and 1989, it has made a comeback and is included in Romania's foreign policy approaches after the fall of the communist regime. The main events in the field of international relations subject to analysis in this article are: Romania's contributions as a founding member to the League of Nations - established in 1919 upon the principle of the collective security of states that wanted to conform to international conventions. It was viewed as an organization aimed at protecting small to medium sized states from the expansion and dominance of great powers; and Romania's adhesion to the Briand-Kellog Pact in 1928, the first international treaty banning the use of war to resolve disputes between states. Romania’s contributions to disarmament and collective security are highlighted based on Nicolae Titulescu and other prominent diplomatic representatives’ discourses and official positions within the League of Nations (Treaty of Mutual Assistance - 1923, Protocol - 1924) and the Geneva Disarmament Conference (1932-1934). Based on the need to consolidate the unitary national state by preserving territorial and political clauses established immediately after the First World War, Romania has actively participated in the efforts to make US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson’s vision on the „new world order” come true. It is an order based on establishing politico-military alliances meant to maintain peace and security in the region, in Europe and internationally. Keywords: collective security, disarmament, Titulescu, League of Nations, Geneva Disarmament Conference

dr. Alda KUSHI, Universitatea, „Aldo Moro” din Bari

Albania between the two World Wars Abstract: The years immediately after the First World War were decisive years for Albania. Its priority was to preserve its territorial integrity, seriously threatened by the secret Treaties concluded during and after the armed conflicts. The above Treaties considered the territory of the Albanian state a traded commodity to please the victors. Once the League of Nations argued in favour of preserving the borders established in 1913, a new era began for Albania. For the first time long-term strategic plans were designed for the country's social, economic and political development. As for the social aspects, in the period between the two World Wars, the significant differences between the North and the South of the country strongly emerged, which included cultural, religious and economic aspects. In order to reduce these differences and to ensure national unity, a series of political strategies were adopted that involved members of the two areas in the royal governing bodies (between 1928 and 1939). Moreover, the secular nature of the country and the separation of social, economic and political status from religious affiliation (a system rooted during the period of Ottoman domination) have been guaranteed. From an economic point of view, some development initiatives have been undertaken, including an agrarian reform, which, however, ran into the feudal mentality of the large landowners who prevented its implementation. From a political point of view, the years 1920-1939 were tumultuous years. For the first time Albania experienced different political systems: the Principality, the Parliamentary Republic, the Presidential Republic and the Monarchy, which finally fell with the Fascist occupation in 1939. The main limits for the country's economic, social and political development consisted in the lack of an educated ruling class and in the reduced financial capacity that limited the implementation of strategies for social and economic growth. Aid from the Italian state contributed to reduce the economic gap to the point that in the 1930s Albania was almost dependent on Italian funding. As a matter of fact, the Italian occupation that took place in 1939 seemed almost a natural and predictable consequence of the relations between the two states before the outbreak of the Second World War. Keywords: Albania, League of Nations, political strategies, different political systems, Italia

drd. Giulia CHIELLI, Universidad de Granada

The anomalous fascism of the Iron Guard Abstract: The Iron Guard was one of the most anomalous political experiences within the European fascist movements between the two world wars. Characterized by a religious inspiration and supported by a Manichean vision of the world, the Iron Guard gave life to an elitist, sectarian political organism, subject to very strict rules and perfectly aligned to the leader's indications. The method of political struggle was organised violence set up as a system. Ideologically, the organisation advocated a general aversion to all forms of secularisation, urbanisation and industrialisation. Equally strong was the rejection of the values of the urban bourgeoisie and its models of life: market society and individualism. A mystique of death followed by resurrection was very much alive. It is not very clear what the Iron Guard and its leader Codreanu meant by 'rebirth', nor what political strategies were to underpin it. All that emerges is a generic vision steeped in archaic religiosity that revolved around the idea of a 'new man' who must place himself entirely at the service of the nation. The essay intends to analyse the specificity of the Iron Guard with respect to the coeval European fascist movements, particularly the Italian fascism, with which it also had some relevant relations. In particular, the historical, social and economic context of Romania at the end of the Great War will be highlighted in order to unearth the links between the phenomenon of the Iron Guard and the conflicts that crossed the Balkan country in the 1920s and 1930s. Keywords: fascism, Iron Guard, nationalism, violence, C. Z. Codreanu

SECTION

VALUES OF THE NATIONAL CULTURAL Heritage

ABSTRACTS

dr. Ioan OPRIȘ, Universitatea Valahia, Târgoviște

From Malraux's museum and Vergo's new museology to the telemuseum Abstract: Over time, the Museum has redefined and reinvented itself, supported by innovative ideas and measures, which has made it able to respond to its many functions: hoarding, through selective accumulation, research, conservation-restoration and education, through communication and dialogue with generations. However, the great qualitative leaps at the conceptual level were recorded only in the 20th century, from the museum imagined visionary by A. Malraux in the middle of the century, to the "new museology" defined by P. Vergo and his collaborators in the late 1980s. In an attempt to identify the sorghum of periodic renewals, the factors that led to radical changes in museography, we must take into account political, cultural and technical developments. Tehno-sciences have contributed decisively to the restructuring, reorganization, rethinking the heritage and institutions of cultural/natural treasure, also the museum philosophy, called by us museosophy. The new visions were influenced by technological invention: graphic arts, photography, cinema and television, physico-chemical and biological research. In contemporary society, museums cannot remain outside of modernization - through up-to- date equipment and multimedia technologies - of presentation and dialogue. Dedicated to fellow people to support them in the instruction and affirmation of everyone's personality, under a limited diversity of forms and formulas, museums aim to convince, support, participate in educational acts, but also to delight, to raise the level of understanding and satisfaction. Not all of them achieve their purpose in a similar way, because the economic and civilizational disparities between countries have been also reflected - and continue - in the field of museography. The context, content and form of the museum exhibition are those that give personality and reference to any museum. When it also presents an aesthetic aspect, brought from the qualities of heritage and space, furniture, eclerage, design and documentation, then the reference is definitive, being memorable. In the current conditions of the pandemic, museums also have tried to adapt, to redefine themselves. However, the „Telemuseum”, the virtual museum, the internet museum is nothing but a technical form of information. It does not respond in any way to sensory needs: to see directly, to have concrete, tactile and olfactory contacts, sometimes auditory, to live emotionally what signifies the object/objects and their context (historical, artistic, technical) rendered by the talent and interpretation of the museographer. Respect, which the museum gives to the visitor and its ability to understand and intercept in close proximity to the objects, makes the difference between easy contact through the internet, artificial of course, and individual perception, natural in its essence. Keywords: imaginary museum, new museology, cultural heritage, virtual museum. MEDIEVAL HERITAGE

dr. Ginel LAZĂR, Muzeul Național de Istorie a României

Spiritual, cultural and heritage identities surprised in the work carried out by Nicodemus from Tismana in the medieval Romanian space Abstract: Although in the Romanian space in the north of the Danube, there has been a lot of documented evidence about the existence of monastic life ever since the first centuries of Christianity, its appropriate organization in Wallachia, according to the Athonite model, subsequently introduced in Moldavia, was accomplished by Saint Nicodemus, the founder of the great monasteries in Wallachia, a true advocate of Hesychasm. Acknowledged as an adept of tranquility, the great Serbian monk organizes hermitages with community life around the monastic centers of the Lavra type, thus developing the Athonite tradition. In the monograph entitled Mircea cel Bătrân (Mircea the Elder), P. P. Panaitescu creates a hagiographic imaginary around the image of St. Nicodemus of Tismana. „This great saint, who accompanies Mircea in his campaigns and even at the meeting with King Sigismund, giving advice and hope to the people put in danger by the enemies, enlightening the entire country with his teaching and the urge to work, is unique in our history, as a medieval icon, who raises Mircea’s epoch to legendary proportions”. The oldest dated manuscript in Wallachia, with the oldest binding, is at the National Museum of Romanian History, having been copied by Saint Nicodemus, the Hegumen of the Tismana Monastery. During the last years of his life, between 1399 and 1405/1406, Nicodemus lived at the Prislop Monastery, in the Hațeg Country, in the „Hungarian Country” where, between 1404 and 1405, he wrote on parchment, in calligraphy, and illuminated a Tetraevangelion, which he later bound with skilfully made gilded silver covers, considered a masterpiece of the epoch. Keywords: Saint Nicodemus, Tismana monastery, Mircea the Elder, ruler of Wallachia, Tetraevangelion, religious manuscripts, Prislop monastery.

arhim. dr. Policarp CHIȚULESCU, Biblioteca Sfântului Sinod

New Romanian testimonies from abroad Abstract: The activity of recording Romanian testimonies that were kept abroad following the method and success of Nicolae Iorga, Marcu Beza, completed to perfection by the academician Virgil Cândea and his daughter, Ioana Feodorov represents an unwritten duty for any historian or scientist. During some scientific expeditions in Greece, especially Thessaly, and Epirus, Mount Athos, old Constantinople and Ukraine, in Kiev, we were able to identify embroidery works, icons, books, deeds, that remind us of the magnificence of the Romanian voivodes, of the piety of the believers from the Danube Principalities, that sacrificed part of their possessions for the maintenance, prosperity and embellishment of the Sacred Places. These objects, that possess a great spiritual and cultural importance, are to be found in libraries, in repositories that are less accessible to the public, in museums and collections that recently became open for visitation. It is certain that, as new testimonies will be uncovered, new light will add value to our past, to the people, their thinking and creations that bind us together by thousands of unseen threads. These modest contributions are meant to make whole this unending Romanian thesaurus that constitutes a real apostle work of the Romanian soul from the entire world. Keywords: Romanian icons, embroideries, books, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine.

dr. Oana-Mădălina POPESCU, Biblioteca Academiei Române

Daniil the Hermit - mentioned as a saint in heritage documents from the 17th-18th centuries Abstract: In this article, we wish to present and analyse several documents from the 17th- 18th centuries, în which Daniil the Hermit was mentioned as a saint, with holy relics, long before his official canonization by the (in June 1992). The Voroneț church, that sheltered the tomb of Daniil the Hermit, venerated him as its official second patron saint, together with the historical patron, Saint George the Martyr. On one hand, the acts attested the veneration of the Hermit as a saint by the people, secular and ecclesiastical authorities. On the other hand, the documents, being issued by the rulers of Moldavia belonged to different boyar families (Cantemir, Duca, Racoviță, Ghica, Callimachi), they underlined the popularity of our saint. The rulers of the country issued the acts in order to exempt the Voroneț Monastery from some taxes and to grant or confirm it different privileges. So, the charters can be used, not only in ecclesiastical studies, but also in further historical ones, because they contain important economic, social and political data, as well. Keywords: Daniil the Hermit, patron saint of Voroneț church, charter.

Mihai-Alex OLTEANU, Muzeul Mitropolitan Iași

Russian silverwork from the imperial period in the collection of the Mitropolitan Museum Iași: craftsmen, workshops and companies Abstract: In my article from last year presented for this Colloquium, I identified the Russian marks and markings from the imperial period from on the silverware Metropolitan Church of and patrimony. This patrimony was transferred to the Metropolitan Museum afterwards. In that article I insisted on some general information regarding the art of processing and marking objects made of silver on the territory of Russia, being motivated by the fact that in our country have not been studied and published works to address this issue, especially specific studies on the objects in the collections of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Also being motivated by the very interesting information discovered about some important silversmiths, workshops and silver processing companies in Imperial Russia, while studying the collection of the Iasi Metropolitan Museum, I decided to write this article and present a summary of the information about them, referring only to objects already owned and identified. Through this paper I propose to highlight some aspects of the history and activity of Russian silversmiths who owned workshops or companies, in which they made objects of gold or silver, so as to help other researchers in museums, but also accredited evaluators, historians of art and why not and auction houses. This documentation was quite difficult, due to the fact that little information was preserved about the life of most jewelry manufacturers and silversmiths in Tsarist Russia, because during the Soviet period much information „was lost”, many of the workshops being closed immediately after The of 1917. I set out to briefly present the object owned by the Iași Metropolitan Museum, then the details about the workshop in which it was made, including the markings applied by the workshop /silversmiths over time. Among the silversmiths, workshops and companies that I will talk about in the article are: - The enterprise „P.A. Ovchinnikov” (in Russian: „Предприятие «П. А. Овчинников»”). Pavel Akimovich Ovchinnikov (Russian: Павел Акимович Овчинников), in addition to being one of the founders of the National School of Jewelers in Russia, was also a Supplier of the Russian Imperial Court during the reign of Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II), but also Supplier of the Court of Tsarevici and the Court of the Grand Duke. - The Nemirov-Kolodkin company (in Russian „Фирма Немиров-Колодкин”), known especially for the church objects made at the request of the Holy Synod of the . In gratitude, for his work, but also for his charity, Nikolai Vasilievich was buried at the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow. In addition to those already mentioned, I will also present silversmiths such as Avdeiev (in Russian „Авдеев”), Sikachev (in Russian „Сикачев”), Firma Sazikov (in Russian "Сазиков") and Firma Postnikov (in Russian "Постников") and others. Keywords: hallmarks, silversmiths, workshops, firms, Imperial Russia

dr. Șarolta SOLCAN, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București

Abandoned heritage monuments: wooden churches This study focuses on the fate of wooden churches in Romania. The wooden churches are of an extraordinary beauty and elegance. They represent some of the most perfect creations of wood art in our country. They are traditional places of worship and are spread throughout the country. However, the wooden churches had a cruel destiny. Starting with the 19th century, most of them disappeared, being replaced by more spacious churches, built of stone or brick, which were expressions of the well-being of a community. Today there are at least 1440 wooden churches. Research points out that there are other wooden churches lost in lesser-known villages. Of these, less than 1200 have the status of monuments, and only 8 have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. At this time, apart from a few wooden churches that have benefited from restoration, many have an uncertain fate. First of all, many of those that are not on the List of Historical Monuments of the National Heritage Institute have deteriorated. Some of them, although of special historical and artistic value, were abandoned and then demolished, such as the one in Hăpria, Alba County. Among these wooden churches are those that still function as parishes of small communities. Specialists are afraid of what fate they will have when they lose their functionality. Of the wooden churches that are part of the List of Historic Monuments, some are neglected, and others have been abandoned. For example, a new church was built in Boia, in Gorj County and the settlement was depopulated (Cod LMI:GJ-II-m-B-09246). Other churches have been deprived of their mobile heritage, such as the church in Băgaciu in Cluj-Napoca County (Cod LMI:CJ-II-m-B- 07524). Among them are some that have already collapsed, such as the wooden churches in Budărești, Vâlcea County (codLMI:VL-II-m-B-09691) those from Tomnatecu de Jos, Hunedoara county (Cod LMI:HD-II-m-B-03466), those from Mura-Mare, Mureș County (Cod LMI:MS-II-m- B-15730), as well as those that perished due to people's negligence, such as the Gialacuta church (2012), Hunedoara county (Cod LMI 2004:HD-II-m-A-03319), Boroșești (2017), Vâlcea county (Cod LMI: VL-II-m-B_09679). There are also cases of demolished wooden churches that are still on the List of Historical Monuments, such as the two churches in Susani, Vâlcea County, "Holy Emperors" (cod LMI: VL-II-mB-09935) and "Saint Dumitru" (Cod LMI: VL-II-m-B-09936). Even the wooden churches that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage List face many uncertainties due to the lack of lightning rods and delayed repairs. In conclusion, the existence of wooden churches in Romania is put to the test by many factors, including the depopulation of rural settlements, the disinterest of the authorities, the fragile nature of the material from which they are built and the delay of renovation and restoration. Although many efforts have been made in recent decades to save wooden churches in Romania, data analysis shows that many of them have an uncertain future if fast and effective measures are not taken. Keywords: wooden churches, cultural heritage, historical monuments, abandoned monuments, UNESCO

Mura Mare, Mureș County. The ruins of the wooden church (2010)

ARTISTS - COLLECTIONS - COLLECTORS

dr. Elisabeta NEGRĂU, Institutul de Istoria Artei „G. Oprescu”, Academia Română

The portraits of Prince Ioannis Giorgios Karatzas Abstract: Ioannis Giorgios Karatzas (1754-1844) was a dragoman of the Ottoman Empire in 1807-1808 and 1812 and ruler of the Principality of Wallachia between 1812 and 1818. Our communication presents his preserved portraits, some of them unpublished. Like other Phanariot rulers from the turn of the 19th century (Alexandros Mourouzis, Konstantinos Ypsilantis), Karatzas belongs to the category of Western art appreciators, ordering painted portraits of himself to the Bohemian Michael Töpler, during his Wallachian reign, and to an Italian painter, during his exile in Pisa, after 1818. Our study aims to clarify the paternity and dating of these portraits, as well as the role played with regards to them by his youngest daughter, princess Ralou Argyropoulou. It is clarified on this occasion the identity of a portrait painted by Pavel Djurković in 1824, erroneously identified in the past with Ioannis Karatzas, in reality representing the ban Barbu Văcărescu. Keywords: Ioan Karatzas, prince of Wallachia, portraits, Mihail Töpler, painter, Pavel Djurković, Barbu Văcărescu

dr. Carmen TĂNĂSOIU, Muzeul Național de Artă al României

Gems and cameos from the collection of the National Art Museum of Romania Abstract: In the MNAR collection there are 83 pieces of jewelry decorated with gems and cameos, dating back to all historical eras. This study brings to attention the typology of jewelry and their institutional origin, as well as the figure of General Dimitrie Papasoglu, from whose collection come more than half of the mentioned pieces. Papasoglu enlisted in the army of Wallachia since its re-establishment in 1830, later becoming a general in the Romanian army. He honorably does his duty in the service of the army and, at the same time, uses his position and remuneration as an officer in the border area on the Danube line to pursue his passion as a self-taught archaeologist and important collector of (historical) artifacts. The collection of gems and cameos of MNAR is unique in all collections of this kind in Romania precisely because of the core from the Papasoglu collection. Keywords: jewelry, gems, cameo, collectors, general Dimitrie Papasoglu.

Livia GEORGESCU, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

Diverse and striking artistic visions in the ceramic’s decoration of the Cotroceni National Museum (19th - 20th centuries). The message of the true and mythological symbol Abstract: Viewed in its entirety, the ceramics of the 19th - 20th centuries, keep the imprint of various and interesting conceptions, spirits and artistic styles. When you come to the Cotroceni National Museum and look at the ceramic objects, you can't help but wonder what the story of the pieces from the Asian, European or Oriental space is. With inevitable local variations, determined by the cultural traditions of the local populations, the potters mastered their forces on the choice of decorative motifs and a meticulous technical execution, aimed at perfection. Positive and practical spirits, these artists had especially the vocation of realism intertwined in some places with the mythological. With various shapes, simple or complex, large or small, for domestic or decorative use, the ceramic objects from the inheritance of the Cotroceni National Museum have a diverse and striking ornamental repertoire, to which we dedicate this material. They were masterfully made in prestigious workshops in Asia, the Far East and Europe, where art has been known to make a way to exist beautiful in the world and where the respect for man and nature is the constant vector that dominates the beautiful pieces sector of ceramics. Nature scenes, seascapes, genre painting, as well as delicate ornamentation with floral, zoomorphic, avimorphic and much green motifs generate freshness and a triumph of colors and chromatic effects. In Asia, the floral element is a rhythmic motif, embodied in the flowering decorative tree or more precisely in the beautiful cherry branches. In both Chinese and Japanese pottery, the human figures are placed in a vividly colored landscape that denotes the creator's fantasy, doubled by the obvious communion of HUMAN-NATURE. The stamp of Asian originality is also revealed by the presence of stylized houses, pagodas with kimono characters and motifs reminiscent of traditional fabrics. Not infrequently these assets, along with placing other decorative elements in a well-chosen order, will draw the fame of Asian pottery workshops. And because both Chinese and Japanese people love the tea ceremony, born out of respect for nature and the desire for peace for the soul, we reveal the richness and features of the objects intended for this ritual, skillfully executed by the potters who knew the protocol well. In turn, the legendary samurai, the devoted medieval fighter is rendered with naturalness, brightly colored and located as central as possible on the Japanese ceramic objects. Moving to another register, Persian-Turkish, we notice the innovative style in ornamentation with the motif of arabesques, hunting scenes and a common symbol - the fish. At the same time, the stylized leaves and flowers, peacocks, oriental, expressive characters and frieze-shaped reliefs varied from one era to another, giving elegance and refinement to the pieces, transforming them both into an emblem of taste for pomp. For the Persian potter, the theme with the greatest suggestive force was the nature and the azure or turquoise background, while the Turkish craftsmen focused their forces on the floral and geometric landscape, the broken wave and the arabesque motifs. The European ceramics perfectly illustrates the unity and the diversity, carrying a deep artistic message. Noteworthy is the inclination towards glazed ceramics, perhaps the most common form of decoration that has dressed from country to country an interesting vision, sometimes spectacular. We mention the pragmatic character of the artistic productions of the 19th century according to the general taste, while the dominant note of the 20th century is the nonconformism. Let us not omit the contribution of the western currents that brought a modernist breath. Here are some aspects from some European countries, where the craft of ceramics has created a style. In the famous Paris, which became the world capital of art in the second half of the 19th century, the quality and decoration of the ceramic pieces were special, and the wildflowers painted in vivid and harmonious colors at Sévres were associated with living scenes. The fascinating Limoges porcelain with the famous rose also stood out through the external ornamentation. In turn, Germany is a brilliant member of the elite of European ceramics, covering a wide range from miniatures to large vessels; Super pieces were produced in the famous workshops in Meissen, Rosenthal, , Berlin. Thus, through technical fireworks, fantasy and fresh colors, characters in Bavarian costumes, pastoral scenes, inn atmosphere, seascapes were rendered. Internationally, the chandeliers, figurines and ceramic objects with embossed applications from the Czech Republic, in the Bohemian and Rhineland style, which guaranteed the success of manufacturing production, were highly appreciated. A bastion of ceramics was also the Iberian Peninsula, with a tradition in Valencia and Seville. Woven rope motifs, abundant foliage, flowers with 5-6 embossed petals and in some places heraldic motifs in shades of ocher and cobalt blue, generated a pleasant impression. For its appearance, style and decoration, Italian ceramics have remained a model for centuries. The technique of execution in camaieu and maiolica were in vogue during this period. In the 19th century, the manufactures from Genoa, Milan, Savona, Deruta and Naples created good quality products, in bright colors, with gallant, religious or country scenes, so that in the 20th century the cup pattern, fruit dish and jug, decorated with many floral groupings, landscapes, fruits and people to gain ground. On the mainland, 63 kilometers from , in the town of Delft, there are factories that have become famous for blue pottery. Dutch tulips, exotic flowers, oriental motifs, seascapes, rendered alongside the famous blue decor, made the Delft pottery, a pinnacle of European pottery. Among the countries that can be proud of a traditional craft is also Romania. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the combination of decorative motifs in a special style ensured its success. Of great beauty, symmetrically applied, repetitively or contrastingly, the decorative motifs are individualized by regions, more common being, the sun, the tree, the circle, the tree of life, the wave, the rooster, the green leaf, the garland. In addition to aesthetic value, these symbols have a meaning that expresses an artistic language, decoded only by a thorough analysis. Along with the realistic treatment of human figures and elements of nature, the mythological scenes and the allegories are remarkably rendered in the ceramics of several European and Asian countries. Understanding the stories behind the mythology is a way to learn to live beautifully, to be brave, and to ensure the triumph of good. Let's not forget that perfect beauty was also something the Gods bowed to. It will even lead to the outbreak of the Trojan War because of Elena. The contest of the most beautiful Goddesses will be refereed by Paris, which is extremely well represented in the „Choice of Paris”, visible on the Italian ceramics; on the same pottery are rendered impeccably putti and the beautiful Helios, solar deity, the one who sees and hears everything and who crosses the sky with a four-horse chariot. But the most popular and benevolent with the people are the nymphs found everywhere: sea, forests, mountains, springs. On French and Austrian ceramics, we meet spectacularly rendered, as young and beautiful women, cheerful and graceful, lovers of music. And as the gods behaved like humans, being jealous (Hera) or kidnappers (Zeus), a new scene of inspiration emerged in French and German pottery, opposite the „Abduction of Europe”. The Asians also had an insistent preference for deities, other than European ones, for details and anecdotes; in their world they were rendered by oversizing and associated with the lotus flower, a sacred flower, an attribute of the divine power, a symbol of purity and enlightenment. Asians also loved the dragon - a fascinating motif so popular, well-penciled on their pottery. The bright and magnificent dragon becomes in time master of the sky, the seas and the earth, which angrily produces catastrophes; not infrequently he was portrayed as a hunter of a ball of light (the sun or the moon) precisely to reveal his omnipotence. True or mythological, simpler or wider, the symbols of the Cotroceni pottery have a great decorative value, enhanced by the passion shown by their creators, being at the same time messengers of respect for nature, life and art. Keywords: Asian ceramics, European ceramics, ornaments, symbols, porcelain of Sévres, European workshops, Delft, Milan, Genoa, Meissen, Dresden.

drd. Macrina OPROIU, Muzeul Național Peleș

Royal gardens of Sinaia (1919-1930) Abstract: After the King Carol I’s death, Queen (1914-1927) continued his work. She started her carrier as a gardener designer by modernizing the old-fashioned gardens initiated by her predecessor. In order to change „the distasteful former design”, she invited Harry J. Marsham, the head gardener of the great gardens of Höhe Wasserfalle and of the Rotschield Palace from to pay a visit to Sinaia. In 1921, the postponed visit of Harry J. Marsham took place with insignificant results. In 1923, the German Friedrich Rehbuhn was appointed in the office. His modern vision displayed also in the great public parks of Bucharest, fully and coherently transformed the royal gardens. His close cooperation with the royal commissioner changed the shape and the style of the old terraces. In Sinaia, Queen Marie acclimatised new species of plants bought from the local cities, but also from England and . She succeeded to create an eccentric garden by using a mixture of roses, orchids, lilies and wildflowers. In 1924, Queen Marie applied to Jules Janin services, who was the former gardener of the Russian tzar Nicholas II and a very resourceful employee. Janin created after 1925 the celebrated "gardens of memory" from the Queen’s residence of Balcic (). The summer residence of Crown Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Princess Marie of Edinborough, Pelisor Castle, was built up between 1899-1902 and inaugurated in 1903. Around the same year, the architect Liman surrounded the new residence with a small garden which was very similar to the great gardens of the main royal residence. In 1923, Queen Marie reorganizes the garden turning it into an English garden where she grows tall flowers like red dahlias, combined with white lilies and wildflowers. This small garden was maintained and extended by the third important gardener of Queen Marie, the German Carol Gutmann. In 1927, before the King Ferdinand' death, Queen Marie commissioned to Gutmann an Alpinarium, a mountainous garden crossed by a waterfall and a small lake, where a little boat could navigate for the joy of the young Princes and Princesses. The waterfall was arranged around 1906 by order of the King Karl, who intended to integrate the new residence into the royal landscape. Queen Marie gained a great respect among the royal connaisseurs of garden designs on the occasion of her participation to the Londonize annual exhibition of Olimpya. She wrote down in her daily record about her participation in 1922, when she created an eclectic garden that defined her whole artistic taste. As in Balcic case, the Pelisor garden expressed the Queen’s joi de vivre, her artistic believes and her propensity for beauty. Queen Marie was inspired as a female artist by Darmstadt Jugendstil movement and by the philosophy of the Scottish architect and designer Hugh Baillie-Scott. In the Pelisor garden she provides the most appropriate place for the free flow of her artistic thoughts and energies. From King Karl to Queen Marie the dynamic of the summer residences' gardens changed dramatically. Queen Marie distanced herself from the old Mannerist order that she saw as the expression of an insensitive and rigid bygone age. She replaces it with a different concept of a garden defined like a space for contemplation, conversation and pure beauty in the very heart of nature. Keywords: garden, English garden, terraces, Alpinarium, floral exhibition, landscape.

dr. Cristian SCĂICEANU, Banca Națională a României

The king Carol II and the imperforated postage stamps issued during his reign (1930- 1940) Abstract: Carol II was one of the greatest philatelists of Romania. At that time, his collection was considered the third in the world. Beside what we might call a fabulous stamp collection, the king was actively involved in controlling the issuance of postage stamps by the postal administration. A controversial subject is the imperforated stamps. At the express request of the sovereign, starting with 1934, almost all the stamps issued by the Post Office were also in the imperforated version. Their circulation was extremely low, only 200 copies of each stamp. The imperforated stamps were exclusively at the king's disposal. Very few people had the chance to enjoy the truly royal favour of receiving such stamps. Today, these imperforated stamps rarely appear in international auctions and are sold at prices that often reach 1,000 euros per series. If they are in blocks of four or other larger formations, the prices skyrocket. On letters actually circulated by post they reach incredibly large sums. Our communication brings some clarifications and new elements in this fascinating story of the imperforated stamps during king Carol II reign. Keywords: Carol II, royalty, philately, stamps, Buchman.

Monica LAZĂR, Muzeului Național al Literaturii Române

The Cezar Papacostea Collection from the heritage of the National Museum of Romanian Literature in Bucharest Abstract: Cezar Papacostea (11 November 1866, Mulovişte, North Macedonia – 5 July 1936, Brãila) was an important Romanian philologist and one of the Romanian writers with Aromanian origins, like Tache Papahagi, with whom he corresponded. A free spirit, passionate about the culture of Antiquity, he oriented himself towards classical idealism. He translated from modern authors such as Goethe, Heinrich Heine, H.W. Longfellow etc. He had lectured in universities but also at the radio. In addition, he distinguished himself as a journalist and founder of classical studies magazines like „Orpheus”, „The Classical Magazine”. At the National Museum of Romanian Literature is preserved the Cezar Papacostea collection, including documents that are packed and deposited according to the specific norms for the conservation of mobile heritage goods. The literary collection is divided into categories: manuscripts, sent and received correspondence, iconography, miscellanea (various documents). The correspondence addressed to Cezar Papacostea is very rich and, among the senders, writers such as Take Papahagi, George Pascu, can be remarked. The covered topics are diverse, from professional aspects to friendly requests or personal impressions. Keywords: Caesar Papacostea, Romanian writer, collection of manuscripts, correspondence, documents.

Mădălina-Ioana MANOLACHE, Muzeul Municipiului București

Inventor and entrepreneur: Dumitru Tache Brumărescu and a new look at his activity Abstract: The „national style” or „Romanian art” products of Tache Brumărescu were viewed with admiration and furnished some of the houses of Bucharest residents in the first half of the last century. Nicolae Minovici, the collector who founded the first private museum of national art in his villa on Kiseleff Road, was one of its buyers. The more the number of Brumărescu`s supporters increased, including the Romanian Royal House, so did the criticism, his style being quickly destined for defamation and oblivion ever since. The Minovici collection presents, perhaps, the most numerous objects of the Brumărescu brand, testimonies of the social and cultural lifestyle around the beginning of the 20th century in Romania, as few other objects have survived. Starting from the rich collection left untouched, this paper proposes a new look at the inventor's activity in terms of interior design in the flourishing period of the Romanian national style. The idea of furnishing the home as a result of the individuals in such an era of cultural and political effervescence is a key aspect of the paper. The importance of this retrospective look can be perceived as a reaction to the excessive negative criticism of the products that do not conform to the searches for the authentic Romanian of Brumărescu's products, in the absence of richer investigations of his legacy. Keywords: Romanian style, national art, interior design, modern Romania.

dr. Adriana DUMITRAN, Biblioteca Națională a României

A photographer of Romanian heritage - engineer Stelian Petrescu Abstract: The paper aims to bring to attention the name and activity of a passionate photographer of Romanian heritage - the engineer Stelian Petrescu. Born in 1874 in , graduated in physical and chemical sciences at the University of Bucharest (1895) and the Academy of Mines in Freiberg i. S. (1901), professor at the School of Arts and Crafts in Iasi and Bucharest (1903-1908) and then engineer at the General Directorate of CFR (1909-1930) Stelian Petrescu had for three decades a rich photographic activity. A notable participant in the Romanian General Exhibition of 1906, he became a collaborator of the Bulletin of the Historical Monuments Commission, in its first years of appearance and of the architect Nicolae Ghika-Budești, for whom he photographically documented the restoration and conservation works of some monasteries and churches. In The Guide to the Romanian Railways and Maritime Lines (1912) he creates in hundreds of images a portrait of Romania along the railways that crossed it: places, people, historical monuments, monasteries but also the latest achievements of the applied technique in the construction of bridges, viaducts and ports. After retirement, in 1930, we find him on the covers of specialized magazines, C.F.R. Technical Magazine and C.F.R. Magazine, with a remarkable evolution of style towards modernism. Keywords: Stelian Petrescu, photographer, photos of historical monuments, Bulletin of the Historical Monuments Commission, The Guide to the Romanian Railways and Maritime Lines

drd. Felicia RAETZKY, Muzeul Municipiului București

Medrea 1944 retrospective - a highlighting exhibition in times of uncertainty Abstract: 77 years ago, the Romanian capital, Bucharest was in a state of shock caused by repeated bombings and the insecurity produced by the successive changes of ideological rhythm and horrors of a world conflagration. In this narrative the organization of a retrospective exhibition of sculpture can seem a paradoxical or even anachronic gesture. Cornel Medrea (, Austro-Hungarian Empire, 8.03.1888 - Bucharest, RPR 25.07.1964), one of the great interwar monumental sculptors, trained in and professor at the Department of Sculpture and Modeling at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest is one among the artists deeply affected by the uncertainty of the 1940s. This presentation aims to demonstrate the impact of the outbreak of World War II on the sculptor Medrea. Through the filter of social and cultural history, I will go through chronologically, the preliminary steps to motivate the need for an art exhibition organized at the initiative of Medrea in Bucharest in the last days of the tough year of 1944. In the spring of 1944, Bucharest became an important strategic objective for the Allies in the context of Romania's participation in the WW2. Thus, on April 4, the air attacks that aimed to destroy the North Station, but which also affected the surroundings, will turn the Bucharest residents near the Academy of Fine Arts into collateral victims of this air raid. Only luck saved the teachers and apprentices at that time on Iulia Hasdeu Street, the bombs that fell in the courtyard of the Academy of Fine Arts did not explode, but leave a deep, unforgetful mark, in the memory of the participants. Medrea will take refuge in Predeal, a resort town, situated in the Carpathian Mountains, until the late autumn of 1944. Upon his return in the capital, surprised by the discovery of his sculptures, many of them intact, although made of non-definitive material, Cornel Medrea will organize an exhibition at the Faculty of Architecture in the cold month of December that same year. „The steps are shattered by the bombing, and inside you are greeted by darkness, dust and cold. (..) The exhibition acquires a role of symbol among pains, troubles and ruins, art emerges as a relief and as a teaching”, relates a chronicler of the times. The unifying role of art and culture crosses wide generations and passes lessons from the past, to the new generations. In an instable present, such example from the past, can impose questions about the status of arts and artists and the primary role of culture and cultural heritage in times of struggle, whether caused by World Wars, economic instability or global pandemic. Keywords: Cornel Medrea, Bucharest, modern art, Romanian sculpture, Second World War, cultural heritage

dr. Florin GEORGESCU, Muzeul Național de Istorie a României

Symbols of antitotalitarian resistance found in the fine art collection of the National Museum of History of Romania Abstract: The late 1930s and the post-1944 time were characterized at both European and national level by the rise of far right and left-wing political extremism encouraged by the two representative states for promoted totalitarianism: National Socialist Germany and . In that geopolitical context, personalities of the Romanian nation, devoted to preserving the traditional European historical path of Romania, expressed their opposition to those who promoted the removal of the democratic system from our country. In the plastic art collection of the National Museum of History of Romania are portrayed such personalities, namely King Michael, Nicolae Iorga, Iuliu Maniu and last but not least , who, along with the young sovereign Michael, he also acted from the exile after the brutal imposition of communist totalitarianism by the Soviet Union, to popularize the drama of the Romanian nation beyond the "iron curtain". The study, whose theme illustrates fundamental symbols of the national anti-totalitarian resistance, aims to contribute to bringing back to the scientific environment and not only the patrimony present in the plastic art collection of the National Museum of History of Romania. Highlighting the mentioned heritage aims to illustrate the determination by which the five representative political personalities opposed the rise of far-right and left-wing totalitarianism which dominated the national history in the late '30s of last century and after 1944, the action of those who dedicated themselves in - one way or another to keep the Romanian nation's ties with the transatlantic democratic states, being able to constitute an example for the current generations facing extremist political manifestations. Keywords: political personalities, portraits, King Mihai, Nicolae Iorga, Iuliu Maniu, Grigore Gafencu, anti-totalitarianism.

dr. Mihaela TOADER, Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului și Memoria Exilului Românesc

Romanian Library in Freiburg. Cultural and spiritual heritage of Romanians in Germany Abstract: The history of the Romanian Library in Freiburg is the story of post-war Romanian exile, who restored cultural universe from home. Founded in 1949, the Romanian Library in Freiburg (Germany) was the place to keep the Romanian spirit alive, which still reflects the imprint of the past, a guide for the continuity of Romanian culture beyond the conventional borders of Romania. Because, at that time, the Freiburg region was under French occupation and administrative organization - the French High Commissioner - there was a great need for a translator to mediate between the German and French authorities and Virgil Mihailescu, due to his excellent command of French, became a translator for French Commissariat, between the French side and the German side. Shortly after the end of the war, on May 1, 1949, the Romanian Library in Freiburg was established on the initiative of Virgil Mihailescu and a group of Romanian refugees. It obtained the legal status of Association with the name of „Romanian Library in Freiburg” on May 15, 1949 and had from the beginning the mission to promote Romanian history and culture among important foreign intellectual circles in the West and, especially, within the Romanian-German Culture Circle. A year later, in 1950, the Library received recognition from the French Commissariat. The library contains the following collections: 178 books and brochures various numbers of 16 foreign periodicals 12 manuscripts (doctoral thesis) and the amount of 40 DM. Nowadays, the library contains more than 70,000 volumes. On May 12, 1956, one of the most important German newspapers, „Frankfurter Allgemeine” considered „cultural events in the library as a gateway to Romanian culture on German land”. The Romanian Library in Freiburg contributed, until 1989, to maintaining the Romanian cultural space in the Free West, represented by exiles and after 1990, the cultural forum opened its doors to Romanians in the diaspora and to Romanian or foreign students. The uniqueness of this space is determined by the preservation and preservation of valuable documents, constituting important collection and donation funds through the support of the intellectual circle formed in Freiburg. The theme proposes an incursion into the universe of the Freiburg Library, both a presentation of the cultural and spiritual evolution until 1989 and its purpose and objectives. Keywords: Romanian Library in Freiburg, collections, cultural events, diaspora, foreign students

drd. Gabriela BALABAN, Facultatea de Litere, Universitatea București

Idel Ianchelevici at Bucharest Abstract: Idel Ianchelevici left Ronania in 1931 and since then, he had visited his native country twice, in 1976 and 1985. In 1976, the royal family of visited Romania as an answer to the invitation of Nicolae Ceausescu. Since Ianchelevici was already a friend of the Belgium Royal family, he joined this one at that time. It was the moment of the first Ianchelevici exhibition in Romania, at the National Theater in Bucharest. The press of the time wrote in beautiful words about this event which was very well received by the public. No longer after the exhibition in 1976, started the discussions between Ianchelevici and the Romanian state, for a donation of a part of the works of the artist, to create Ianchelevici collection at the Collections Art Museum in Bucharest. In 1985, the agreement between the artist and the Romanian state was signed and was constituted the Ianchelevici Collection at the Collection Art Museum, with 275 drawings and 7 sculptures. This was the second Ianchelevici Collection in Romania, after the one which belongs to the Visual Art Museum in Galati, the city where the artist started many years ago, his artistic career. The drawings are exposed by rotation, due to the space limitation, but the drawings are permanently exposed in different spaces at all the levels of the museum. The graphic works of the Ianchelevici Collection in Bucharest covers almost the entire artistic period of Ianchelevici, with the evolution of the figurative art, from the beginning when he covered the entire page in 1930s, till a very delicate line on the paper, like a soft breath. The changing point in the art of Ianchelevici was the Congo moment – three visits in the country which was still a Belgium colony at the end of the 1950s. In Congo, Ianchelevici started to draw without looking at the page, at the paper support, but only at the model. From that moment, his human characters presented in the graphic art, became longer, thiner, made by a single hand movement on the paper The sculptures of the collection are faithful to the figurative art, that the artist followed from the beginning till the end, changing only the working material and the style, according to the material. In the collection of the artist at the Collection Art Museum there are two sculptures since the 1930 years, inspired by the human nature from his homeland: a Romanian peasant woman and a little boy (photo number 1). Starting with 1960, Ianchelevici started to carve directly the material, eliminating the excessive material and taking out the model from the stone or marble block. The Fatherhood, carved in Massengis stone in 1960, represents two characters: a father and his daughter and is part of the collection of the Collection Art Museum in Bucharest. Even if he started to carve directly the stone, he continued also to work in bronze, but his characters started to have a different shape: longer, thinner, more delicate and belonging to the city place, not to the village, like those in his first part of life. Despite the fact that his characters had a different body shape, this was not the perfect one, like in the art of the classics. The changing of the style in work, came after Congo, where the artist discovered the beauty of the human body. It was the moment of changing of the proportions and raports of the parts of the human body in the art of Ianchelevici. Three sculptures representing young women with a very thin and long body were made at the beginning of 1970s and are in the collection of the museum. The last sculpture of the collection is a marble piece, carved directly in the material The elder sister (photo number 2). Two children together, coming out directly from the piece of marble. Carved in the block of marble, the style which is like a signature of Ianchelevici: two children going out directly from the marble block, the artist balancing between the future and final piece of art and the row material which was at the beginning I think that this collection which belongs to the Collection Art Museum of Bucharest is an important one and deserves a better attention of the art specialists and the public. Keywords: Ianchelevici, figurative art, sculpture, drawing, graphic, Jewish, artist, marble, stone, bronze.

Idel Ianchelevici, The little rascal, 1932 Idel Ianchelevici, The elder sister, 1980 bronze marble Muzeul Colecţiilor de Artă, Bucureşti Muzeul Colecţiilor de Artă, Bucureşti

dr. Adrian-Silvan IONESCU, Institutul de Istoria Artei „G. Oprescu”, Academia Română

Silvan and politicians: the last decade of the creation of a Romanian portraitist (1989-1999) Abstract: Silvan Ionescu (1909-1999), architect and plastic artist, lived under four kings and under four presidents of the republic: born under the glorious reign of King Carol I, performing his schooling under Ferdinand I the Loyal, higher education under the minority of King Mihai I, performing his military service under Carol II and participating in the Second World War, as a combatant, under the King Mihai I, then serving as an employee during Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and retiring under Nicolae Ceaușescu, to live another decade under the presidency of and . But although he was a portraitist of great force, who illustrated the cultural life of the country over a period of almost 70 years, during such a long and experience-filled life, pleasant or dramatic, he systematically avoided practicing political satirical drawing, risking at any moment to place the author in a vulnerable position, depending on the change of governments and geopolitical sympathies of the rulers. However, since 1990, spending a lot of time in front of the television, captivated by the avalanche of events, begins to make, for his own pleasure, the portraits of passers-by politicians, without the intention of publishing them. His favorite characters were: Ion Iliescu in dialogue with N. Ceaușescu appeared on the clouds, Nicolae Văcăroiu – whom he had, for a time, subordinate at a design institute –, , Adrian Severin, Adrian Nastase, Crin Halaicu, Ionescu-Quintus, Corneliu Coposu, Gabriel Țepelea, Petre Sălcudeanu, Andrei Pleșu, Marin Sorescu (last three, ministers of culture). An old friend asked him to portray the president of the National Christian Democratic Peasant Party, Corneliu Coposu, and, after much insistence, he accepted, with great difficulty. He even left some memorial notes on how he was received and how he executed that portrait. In addition, he approached, also for his own amusement, the humorous composition aroused by the realities of the retirement life, shortages, rising prices, food queues, devaluation of the national currency, etc. Twenty-two years after Master Silvan's move to the eternal ones, the time has come for these graphic essays to be made public, much to the amusement of contemporaries. Keywords: Silvan Ionescu, plastic artist, portraits, politicians, caricatures.

dr. Mădălina NIŢELEA, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

An interpretation of the cultural heritage of the Cotroceni National Museum, at the anniversary time Abstract: Cultural heritage transfers to any community, unitary character and identity. The cultural heritage preserved and transmitted with the help of the museum, is an essential source in the thorough identification of the heritage. The history of museums is complex, the result of human pleasure in collecting, transmitted in a disciplined way today. The main way to achieve this purpose today is to perfect the language of museum communication the fundamental task of the present, consisting in the identification and capitalization of the cultural heritage. The ancient Egyptians formed huge deposits of objects, set up in real funerary museums. In classical antiquity and the Hellenistic era, numerous works were gathered not only in considerable libraries, but also works of Greek sculpture and painting. With the Romans appeared the first so- called museographic preoccupations to protect the statues, the temples against the climate, appeared the first "art galleries" that had to be oriented to the north to preserve the colors. And in ancient China we meet certain concerns in this regard. During the Middle Ages many precious objects were hoarded by churches. Renaissance Italy, however, will approach the modern notion of a museum. Today we operate with clear notions and concepts, with legal regulations and precise norms. We meet many theories that have been the basis for defining the museum, its heritage, museology and museography or the collection of cultural goods. In 1974, in Copenhagen, within the General Assembly of ICOM, the definition of the museum was adopted, later reconfirmed, with fine transformations, in the General Assemblies of ICOM According to this definition, the museum is a public institution of culture in the interest of society, which collects, preserves, researches, restores, communicates and exhibits for study, education, and enjoyment, the material evidence of the evolution of nature and man. Today, the museum also involves recording all the information about the goods that make up its cultural heritage: descriptions, inventories, collections, catalogs, repertoires, drawings, plans, photographs, etc. Cultural heritage ensures awareness of the value of its assets, by inventing certain standards and classifications. Law 182/2000, on the protection of the national mobile cultural heritage, republished in M.O. 259/9 April 2014, through art. 4 introduces a criterion for classifying the collections, namely the criterion of importance / value - thesaurus and fund. Thus, we meet cultural goods with exceptional value for humanity, those classified in the legal category Treasure and goods with special value for Romania, which make up the category entitled Fund. In addition, the classification criteria are described in GD 886/2008: general and specific classification criteria. The character and structure of a museum are defined by the nature of its collections, involving museographers, researchers and archivists, in a sustained activity of evidence, documentation, research of cultural assets, in order to develop, protect and capitalize on museum heritage. The Cotroceni National Museum has fulfilled in the thirty years of existence, this basic duty of any specialized owner of cultural goods, drawing up the records of the goods in the collections, their classification, in accordance with the legislation in force. The cultural patrimony of the Cotroceni National Museum holds a number of 334 cultural goods classified in the legal categories Fund and Thesaurus. Seven more goods from the collection of decorative art, oriental ceramics, for which the Ministerial Order is expected, were also classified in the Fund category. In December last year, the files of 35 documents art with a proposal for classification in the Fund were submitted to the Ministry of Culture, and, recently, more than 40 files of the goods from the archeology collection will be submitted. In the legal category Thesaurus, the furniture collection has the most goods, a number of 40 classified pieces, followed also in the field of decorative arts by the glass one, with 20 goods. Romanian painting registers nine classified works, archeology has eight pieces, and ethnographic textiles, a number of six. It is followed by a good classified in the category Thesaurus, the collections of universal painting, weapons and metals. In the legal category Fond, supremacy is won by the graphic collection, with 115 classified works, followed by Romanian painting with 36 works, sculpture with 28 pieces, furniture with 25 goods, photography with 24 illustrated postcards, metal collection with 18 ethnographic artifacts and textiles with two positions. If in the case of the category Thesaurus, the collections of decorative arts are representative, in the case of the Fund category, we notice that the plastic art, graphics, painting and sculpture, at the Cotroceni National Museum are highlighted. The patrimony thus implies a permanent updating, valorization and selection of cultural goods. Keywords: cultural heritage, the patrimony, categories Thesaurus and Fund.

drd. Lucica BRAD - PARASCHIVESCU, Facultatea de Istorie, Universitatea București

Ethnographic landmarks of the textile heritage from the village Mărgău Abstract: This article is a research about the traditional Romanian garments from Mărgău, . The first studies on this subject were mentioned in our bachelor's thesis in ethnology, in 2019. This article completes the initial data, providing a complete picture of the ethnographic textile heritage from Mărgău. For more than 10 years we have been studying traditional textiles from Mărgău, following their typology, technology, cultural interferences and dynamics. The hypothesis of this research is there are several costumes specific to the same area, which succeed each other over time, depending on the cultural stage and the historical period in which the geographical area was. We propose a chronological reference structure, in the study of ethnographic textiles as mass products, exemplifying the traditional textile objects from Mărgău. About the methodology, the research is the result of a multidisciplinary approach, which combines ethnography with history and practical application. We started with the autobiographical method, ethnobiography, we continued with the ethnographic description and we finished with the historical, chronological and comparative methods. The sources used were consistent with the research perspectives and took into account both documentation and field research. In terms of documentation, original sources, archive photographs and works of art, as well as numerous published sources were studied. A very important resource in the realization of this article was represented by the garments as well as the tools and equipment used in their realization. Finished objects, raw materials, tools and textile equipment from public and private collections were studied. Also, digital resources were used, very important in the context of current research. The research aims at the dynamics of the traditional port in Mărgău from 1900-2020. This period includes the last two decades of the modern period and the entire contemporary period, to the present day. We will start the presentation from emblematic pieces, as the Shirt with strips is considered, and we will reach newer textiles, considered degraded variants of the traditional costumes, zonal and national. However, we will pay more attention to textiles considered identity brands, because we meet them in a smaller area and have a special status. We will also capture the cultural interferences, present in the intercultural areas, making a parallel with the Hungarian textiles in the area. Keywords: textile, cultural heritage, Margau, Cluj county, Transylvanian garments, textile arts and crafts, Costumes from Transylvania, Romanian ethnography, identity and interculturality.

RESTORATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

dr. Ioana Lidia ILEA , Muzeul Național Cotroceni

Competence criteria for professionals in restoration and conservation according to the occupational standards Abstract: The protection of the cultural heritage is one of the priorities identified at the level of the , focusing on the consolidation of competences for cultural heritage professionals. In this respect, an important role is played by achieving the highest possible degree of specialization of professionals in the field of conservation and restoration of mobile cultural heritage and the existence of clear, efficient and adequate criteria for recruitment and assessment of their skills. An occupational standard describes the professional activities and tasks specific for the occupations of an occupational area and the quality landmarks associated with their successful fulfilment, in accordance with the requirements of the labour market and the compulsory professional competencies in order to practice an occupation. Conservators and restorers are professionals who must have the knowledge, skills, experience and understanding to act in order to preserve the cultural heritage for the future. The fundamental role of these specialists is to preserve the cultural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations. The present paper aims to make a comparative analysis of the specific skills and activities provided by the occupational standards in our country for professionals in the field of restoration and conservation of movable cultural heritage, compared to the occupational standards for these professions in other European countries and USA. Last but not least, there will be a brief approach to the issue of training and professional development opportunities for staff with secondary education, or similar, that may be able to carry out restoration and conservation interventions under the coordination of professionals and non- formal methods of transmission knowledge and skills on traditional trades in the field of tangible heritage that require a specific approach. This type of opportunities would both have the role of stimulating the labour market and ensuring skilled labour for the perpetuation of traditional techniques, especially in the field of conservation and restoration of cultural assets of ethnographic significance. Keywords: occupational standard, competence, restorer, professional, evaluation, sustainability.

Gabriela ROTARU, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române

Restoration of the „Minei for April”, 19th century, from the collections of the National Museum of Romanian Literature, Bucharest Abstract: Among the National Museum of Romanian Literature’s rich collection of patrimony documents lies the one entitled „Mineiul pe luna Aprilie”, printed in a black and red typography, written in Cyrillic characters and published in 1852, by the Holy Mitropoly’s printing tools. After a detailed research of the above-mentioned volume and after the physico-chemical and biological analysis reports, remnants of some old and fairly unprofessional interventions of restoration have been found. As a follow up to the mentioned situation, the necessity of a complete restoration of the volume became mandatory. In this article, I am going to present, in detailed steps, the restoration procedure that has been proposed, approved and published afterwards, by The Restoration Commission of The National Museum of Romanian Literature, in order to save the volume from further degradation, for many years to come. Keywords: morphological description, restoration methodology: body book, restoration methodology: related book.

Oana PĂCURARIU, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române

„Minaion for June”, 1852. Restoration-Conservation Abstract: A work part of the collections of the National Museum of Romanian Literature/ printed in Bucharest, in 1852, in Romanian ,״Bucharest, recently restored, is a ,, Menaion for June written with Cyrillic script. The volume presented mechanical, physico-chemical and biological damage. The restoring operations included dry cleaning the volume, numbering the files, taking apart the volume and producing the mirror of the pages, applying wet treatments, drying the leaves, filling the lacking portions with Japanese paper and veil, cutting the leaves to the format, grouping them into the fascicles, and pressing them to the book block. After restoring the book block, the following operations were performed: sewing of the fascicles, lining the spine with cotton cloth and paper, strengthening the cracks with Japanese veil and attaching the restored endpaper to the book body. Then followed making new linen covers, attaching the boards to the book body, gluing the forces on the inside of the barks. Keywords: restoration - old books, restoration - methods, restoration - case study.

Raluca CASAPU, Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române

Aspects regarding the restoration-conservation of the volume „Menaion for September” Abstract: The Menaions are collections of texts organised on days and months for the entire calendar year. They include biographies of the Saints, which used to be read during the sermon in the past. The present volume represents a „Menaion for September”, printed in Romanian with Cyrillic letters. It was published in 1852, at the Printing House of the Holy Metropolitanate in Bucharest and now it belongs to the National Museum of Romanian Literature. The analysis revealed considerable physical-mechanical, physical, chemical and biological damage, such as corrugation of the surface of the pages, dust deposits, wax and grease, as well as areas of mold and galleries produced by wood-eating insects which caused losses of the support material. These considerations led to the decision to unbind the volume for a full restoration procedure. Keywords: restoration - old book, restoration - methods, restoration - case study.

Anastasia FLOROIU, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

Methodological aspects during the restoration of a nineteenth century work of art case study, „The Icon Saint Vasile” Abstract: The object of the research study is a 19th century icon, representing Saint Vasile, made in the technique of oil on textile, anonymous author, from a school of Greek influence, having the dimensions of 32/26 cm and that belongs to collections of the Cotroceni National Museum. The complexity of the methodological restoration process applied to the icon „Saint Vasile” was given in the first place by inappropriate treatments applied to the verse, poor execution technique and improper storage and preservation conditions prior to entering the museum's collection. After the analysis of the icon, it was found that its state of conservation was inadequate, lacking some of the basic elements that would have created an environment suitable for its preservation and conservation over time. The icon did not present a mandatory auxiliary support for the structural stability in time of the oil paintings, which led to deformations of the support that engaged the layer of paint. The previous empirical interventions had the effect of accelerating the degradations, being at the same time difficult to remove in order to have access to the original support. Through the methodological approach applied, following the analysis and performance of tests, several important aspects were taken into account in order to restore the structural and aesthetic unity of the object. Thus, treatments were performed to remove the empirical interventions, to consolidate and preserve the original, while preserving its authenticity. Then, the icon was fixed on a new, professional chassis. The preparation of the icon for the final aesthetic interventions was done by applying a layer of varnish with a double role, to insulate and protect the original painting and to even out the surface in order to apply the chromatic retouching. The chromatic integration was made in the ritocco technique and the type of retouching, imitative. Keywords: conservation, restoration, authenticity, visibility, doubling, consolidation.

Roxana LĂCRARU – TOPOR, Muzeul Național Cotroceni

The preservation by restoration of a frame belonging to the 19th century Abstract: The chosen subject is the presentation of the conservation and restoration operations of a neoclassical style nineteenth century frame with wooden support and polished stucco with gold leaf ornamentation, belonging to the collection of the National Museum Cotroceni. The frame and the special eighteenth century painting, "Rebecca at the fountain", supported and completed by this frame, will be available to be admired in the permanent exhibition of the museum. As it is known, microclimate factors as well as restoration interventions performed on the structure of an object play a very important role in preserving its state of conservation. When these interventions are undertaken in a deficient manner, all these measures have a detrimental effect on the structural integrity of the component parts of the object. In the present case, the previous interventions started from a well-intentioned desire to "save" and to "recover" the aesthetic and structural integrity of the piece through attempts of reconstructing some areas that presented gaps in the ornamentation, lost during its existence. But the steps taken in these previous actions did not follow exactly the professional restoration methodology and some of the specific and mandatory operations were even omitted. Another important aspect in performing a quality restoration consists in the materials used. For this reason, the respect and knowledge of the restorer towards his work is reflected both in choosing compatible materials with the original and preserving as much as possible of the original parts. The article aims to explain the detailed methodology of restoration of a vintage frame, accomplished in the restoration laboratory of the museum. This will include all the conservation and restoration operations, the problems encountered in the restoration process and the way of solving them in order to recover the structural and aesthetic integrity, to obtain a state of conservation as stable as possible and an aesthetic form as close as possible to the original. Keywords: conservation, aesthetic recovery, restoration, compatibility, reversibility.