ZAGREB, December 7, 2019 - The Rijeka-based Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral on Friday staged an exhibition about a local luthier, Franjo Kresnik, and the exhibition titled "Violins Beyond Borders/Stradivari in Rijeka - Kresnik and Cremona" is part of the project of Rijeka - the European capital of culture in 2020.

The authors of this exhibition, which will be held throughout 2020, are Tamara Mataija and Tea Perinčić of the Maritime and History Museum and Fausto Cacciatore of the Violin Museum in the Italian city of Cremona.

The exhibition is dedicated to Kresnik, a doctor who was born in Vienna in 1868 and lived in Rijeka until his death in 1943 and who was known for his passion for building violins and other string instruments.

He had a role in reviving the Cremona school of violin making. Kresnik, who craved knowledge about the art of making violins from the era of Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri at the turn of the 18th century, often travelled to Cremona and started building violins following the example of those two Italian luthiers.

Some of the violins made by Kresnik as well as violins built by Stradivari and Guarneri are part of the exhibition. The violins of the Italian luthiers can be seen until 8 March 2020, while the exhibition runs through January 2021.

More Rijeka news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, May 14, 2019 - The Trieste International Foundation for Scientific Progress and Freedom, the University of Rijeka and the Rijeka 2020 company on Tuesday signed an agreement on cooperation that will culminate in 2020, when Rijeka will be the European capital of culture while Trieste will be the capital of science.

Stefano Fantoni, president of the Trieste foundation, Rijeka University Chancellor Snježana Prijić Samaržija and Rijeka 2020's director Emina Višnić signed the agreement.

Prijić Samaržija underlined that culture and science were being connected as part of a coincidence where two cities with a distance of only 70 kilometres between them become the centres of the most important events in Europe next year.

She added that the two towns had been cooperating for a long time in the fields of science and higher education and that the agreement signed today made that cooperation official.

We expect the two universities to continue sharing information and exchanging visits by their lecturers, she said.

Fantoni said that 2020 would be a very important year for this part of Europe, when all eyes in Europe would be on the two towns. That is our opportunity to show the enormous possibilities of this area, he said.

The two universities and two capitals in 2020 are connecting in a very good way, Višnić said.

Europe is at a turning point in its history, Višnić said, expressing confidence that culture, art and science can provide a framework for a new era for Europe following a period when focus was on economy and trade as a way of connecting EU countries.

More Rijeka news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

December 1, 2018 — A tender to restore the rusting hulk that was Yugoslav strongman Tito’s yacht "Galeb" has been released in hopes the dilapidated ship will be restored just as Rijeka becomes the European Capital of Culture, according to Morski.hr.

The call for bids to restore “Galeb”, Josip Broz Tito’s de facto personal yacht, seeks a shipyard willing to take on the HRK 27.6 million-task of overhauling the yacht ahead of its new life as a museum.

“We hope that Croatian shipbuilders will come forward and that their offers will be pedantic,” said Ivan Šarar, the head of Rijeka’s Department of Culture. The city will be accepting bids until January 3, 2019.

The project comes just as Uljanik, one of Croatia’s larger shipyards near Rijeka, undergoes a painful financial crisis with no clear solution. Ironically, Uljanik already overhauled “Galeb” once in 1952 after Allied forces sunk the ship in Rijeka during WWII.

The 380-foot ship was originally an Italian auxiliary cruiser, then a German minelayer during WWII. The Yugoslav Navy then used it as a school ship. Tito eventually made it his official nautical residence and floating embassy, using the ship for over 100 meetings with statesmen.

Tito most notably used Galeb to visit London in 1953, his first time leaving Yugoslavia since he broke away from the communist bloc and began a decades-long habit of playing the East and West against each other.

Galeb’s overhaul is part of a broader plan to spiff up the city in general, including an abandoned sugar factory. The two projects together are partially funded by the European Union, which is covering about HRK 68.8 million or 85 percent of the expenses.

If all goes to plan, the renovation of the exterior will be complete by the end of next year, followed by the rejuvenation of the insides. Ideally, Galeb will open its doors as a museum, as well as a public and catering space, by the middle of 2020.

The Museum of Rijeka has already begun collected restored copies of Galeb’s furniture, specifically from the salon and apartments, which belonged to Josip Broz Tito and his wife Jovanka. Next year, furniture from the large salon, dining room and guest cabins will be refurbished.

The Museum this year took over the ship’s inventory, including furniture, electronics and documentation.

Galeb has undergone several restorations since it was first created in 1938. This overhaul aims to return the ship to its Tito-era form, providing a historic link to Tito’s regime and the Yugoslav era.

Don’t let the rust and decrepit state of the ship fool you; Galeb has enjoyed a second life as a photo-du-jour among those who favor shooting decrepitude. It has also been featured in the British/American television series Strike Back.

For more on Galeb, click here.

A total sum of 250.3 million kuna for Rijeka's projects, made up by a hefty loan of 158.6 million kuna.

ZAGREB, February 27, 2018 - On Tuesday, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović held in her office a presentation of the project "Rijeka - European Capital of Culture 2020" for representatives of diplomatic missions and international organisations accredited in Croatia. The presentation was prepared by Rijeka City officials and the company "Rijeka 2020 d.o.o.", in charge of implementing the project.

ZAGREB, January 24, 2018 - EU-Japan Fest Secretary General Shuji Kogi on Wednesday held talks with Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel and members of a team in charge of the European Capital of Culture Rijeka 2020 project, because the Japanese are interested in increasing cultural and tourist exchange with Europe through this project.

Fiumare Festival in Rijeka is in full swing!

The international festival and book fair "vRIsak" features more than 50 events this year

Rijeka's "Port of Diversity" project was selected as the best Croatian entry beating Pula, Osijek and Dubrovnik