EXHIBITION ON IVO ANDRIĆ'S STAY IN ITALY OPENS IN BELGRADE

BELGRADE, December 16 /SRNA/ - The exhibition "Ivo Andrić and Italy - Documents" was opened today at the State Archives of Serbia on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of the Nobel laureate, organized in cooperation between the State Archives of Serbia, the Archives of Republika Srpska and the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality in Trieste.

The exhibition dedicated to Andrić's stays and literary work in Italy was opened on the occasion of Archives Day by Director of the State Archives of Serbia Miroslav Perišić, Director of the Archives of Republika Srpska Bojan Stojnić, and Serbian Ministry of Culture State Secretary Dejan Antić. Perišić emphasized that preserving culture, archives, education and historical memory represents the foundation of the survival of national identity and the most reliable protection against attempts to falsify the past and negate identity, stressing that archives are the first line of defense against the falsification of history. He said that the identity of a nation is built through history, language, script, faith, art, science and the written word, adding that the Serbian cultural space extends beyond state borders and that its fate has for centuries been strongly influenced by external centers of power. "A state without culture has no chance in the modern world. Without archives, a state would not know enough about itself," Perišić said, recalling the importance of cultural heritage and warning of the danger of adopting someone else's image of oneself, which leads to the relativization of values and the weakening of cultural self-confidence. Director of the Archives of Republika Srpska Bojan Stojnić highlighted the importance of archival activity and cooperation among archival institutions in preserving cultural and historical heritage, noting that archives play a key role in safeguarding memory, identity and cultural continuity. He said that the exhibition was prepared at a high academic and professional level, in Serbian and Italian, and is accompanied by an extensive catalogue which, by its scope and content, goes beyond standard exhibition catalogues and represents a monographic and scholarly publication. Stojnić noted that the realization of the exhibition relied on archival materials from several archives, libraries, foundations, endowments and cultural institutions from Serbia and the region, adding that cities in Republika Srpska and BiH, including Travnik, Višegrad and Trebinje, have expressed interest in hosting the exhibition, with the possibility of further showings in Serbia as well. The exhibition was premiered in Trieste in October, subsequently presented in Banja Luka, and its Belgrade showing marks its third presentation. State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture Dejan Antić said that throughout history the Serbian people were forced to defend their existence not only with arms but also with the truth about their name, faith, language and culture, warning that even today—especially in Kosovo and Metohija and other Serbian ethnic areas—Serbian cultural and spiritual heritage is being challenged through attempts to falsify facts, rewrite the past and erase historical memory. The exhibition features archival documents grouped into several thematic sections: Andrić and Trieste, Andrić and the Nobel Prize, echoes of the Nobel Prize in Italy, Andrić and Italy, and Andrić's works in the Library of the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality in Trieste. The authors of the exhibition and accompanying catalogue are State Archives of Serbia Director Miroslav Perišić, Jelica Reljić and Aleksandar Marković, while the introductory texts in the catalogue were written by Academician Matija Bećković and Žaneta Đukić Perišić. The exhibition will remain open until January 31. In addition to this exhibition, the courtyard of the State Archives of Serbia also hosted the opening of the exhibition "Preserve - Collect Archival Material," which testifies to the creation and development of the Archives and its core mission of preserving documentary heritage, as well as the history of the establishment and development of the State Archives of the Kingdom of Serbia and the earliest records of researchers. Visitors will also be able to see research requests, passports and travel documents, as well as service records of numerous prominent figures of Serbian culture, science and art from the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century.