February 12, 2019 - Italy on the Montenegrin Coast is the name of the book by the author, archaeologist Jovan J. Martinovic, presented on Monday, 11 February in the Solidarity Gallery in Kotor.
Numerous visitors welcomed the director of the "Museums of Kotor", Dušan Medin, who said that Martinovic had linked different cultural circles to his research work, connecting lost and present worlds and epochs, as confirmed by dozens of publications, scientific works and texts signed by this author.
"In the monograph 'Italy on the Montenegrin Coast', Jovan J. Martinović was primarily concerned with the architectural heritage of Venice, the masters of the Mediterranean and our coast, from the mid 15th century until its fall in 1797. Through its expert-scientific work, Martinovic has encompassed ten cities and settlements on the coast and in the immediate hinterland: Kotor (Cattaro), Perast (Perasto), Herceg Novi (Castelnuovo), Tivat (Teodo), Budva (Budva), Sveti Stefan , Kastel Lastva or Petrovac (Castel Lastva), Bar (Antivari), Svac (Sovacio) and Ulcinj (Dulcigno). The last part of the book brings a list of origins illustrations by which the author points out the abundance of material he consulted when processing the material," said Medin.
Aleksandar Dender, the president of the Italian Community of Montenegro, who publishes this book, recalled that the links between Kotor, Boka Bay, Montenegro and Italy were powerful for ages.
"Jovan J. Martinovic is an authentic citizen of Kotor, with Kotor in his soul and heart, an archaeologist who discovered the original church of Saint Tripun from the 9th century and the remains of the first Kotor’s cathedral of St. George, with baptism under the church of St. Mathias from the Sixth Century. Thus moved the testimony of Kotor history three centuries ago. At a time when Kotor loses not only its citizens but also its identity, thanks to his work we still have a permanent connection to the incredibly rich history of the city," Dender said.
He said that from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj there are numerous monuments, churches, palaces and entire cities that testify to the ancient presence of Italy in this region.
Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Montenegro, Luca Zelioli, stressed the importance of Jovica Martinović's work, which offered 100-page quality content in which we received a quality review on Venice.
"Italy is today the heir to everything left to us by Venice or Serenissima, also of what Venice used to call Albania Veneta. It is a legacy that deserves to be discovered, protected, upgraded and valorised. It is important to us Italians who are the direct heirs of those who were called the Venetians, as well as for the Montenegrins themselves who are the successors of the Italian legacy in Montenegro. It is the burden of all humanity," Zelioli said.
Author Martinović could not attend the promotion because of illness, and his message was conveyed by the President of the Italian Community of Montenegro Alexander Dender.
Martinovic in his address expressed gratitude to the Italian community who understood the high value of the handwriting, so they decided to allocate funds for its publishing.
"By a special editorial procedure, I made careful engagement and merging of the texts and handed over to the Community a prototype of the manuscript of this consolidated book on Italian Legacy on the Montenegrin Coast," the author said.
In the musical part of the program, the female Klapa "Bellezza" from Tivat performed.
The organisers of the monograph promotion are the Italian Community of Montenegro and the public institution "Museums of Kotor ".
