NSK and Split City Museum jointly organising exhibition in Zagreb’s European Square commemorating “the father of Croatian literature”
18 January – 2 February 2025
From 18 January to 2 February 2025, the audience in Zagreb will have the opportunity to see the exhibition of the Split City Museum spotlighting Marko Marulić, “the father of Croatian literature” and “the Croatian Dante”, the pride of Split and one of the greatest figures of Croatian and European literature (Marko Marulić i Split – zajedničkih 500 godina).
The exhibition, which will be put on in Zagreb’s European Square, features content enabling the exhibition visitors to get acquainted with the historical and social circumstances in Split during Marulić’s time, as well as with the related circumstances characterising the same period in the rest of Europe. Presenting Marulić’s family, his path in life and his literary works in Croatian, Latin and Italian, the display boards present his most famous and widely read works, such as Judita, the first epic in the Croatian language, De institutione bene vivendi per exempla sanctorum, Evangelistarium , Davidias and his letter to Pope Adrian VI (Epistola domini Marci Maruli Spalatensis ad Adrianum VI).
The things only few know about the giant of Croatian culture
The exhibition visitors will also be able to learn many little-known details about Marulić, such as that he was imprisoned, that he is considered the inventor of the word psychology, as well as that his works were included among banned books. Also, the exhibition presents the famous names of the world heritage who read Marulić’s works and used them as the source of inspiration for their own writings.
The display boards include QR codes leading the visitors to additional content revealing extra details about Marulić’s life.
The National and University Library in Zagreb, the Split City Museum’s proud partner in the organisation of the exhibition’s Zagreb edition, prepared with the support of the City of Split and the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, organised its own rich programme as part of the Year of Marko Marulić, the Croatian government’s 2024 programme commemorating the 500th anniversary of Marulić’s passing.
Authored by Marija Plazibat, the exhibition was prepared by a creative team including Vedrana Supan and Dina Vuletin Borčić as assistants, the internationally recognised and award-winning contemporary artist Milan Trenc as the author of the exhibition’s illustrations and creative designer, illustrator and art director Alira Hrabar, from BEKAR HAUS, as the author of the exhibition’s visual identity.
