Magazzino 18

The sacral dignity of the tragedy experienced by an entire population is directly expressed by the exiles’ household objects. The interaction with the displayed objects is the first step to understand and trace back the ethnographic origin of the Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian tradition. It is the testimony of both the specific case of the Julian-Dalmatian people’s exodus and of the universal notion of mass exodus. Magazzino 18 offers a glimpse into the everyday life of a society swept away all of a sudden, a modern Pompei. The sudden event that falls onto the society is the forced migration. The exhibition showcases the first and last objects brought in by the exiles, who never took them back. The objects become a symbol of the void left after the forced departures. The building, being part of the old harbour of the city, was not originally conceived as an exhibition space, which considerably limits user accessibility. It is an improvised museum displaying a cluster of objects left there fifty years ago, originally located in the Magazzino 21-22, then transferred into Magazzino 26 and finally into Magazzino 18. We are currently working on the development of an app that will offer a virtual tour of the premises, in order to give everyone the access to this precious historical evidence.An overview of the exhibited household objects can be found in “Arredi domestici, documenti, strumenti di lavoro dei profughi istriani depositati a Trieste" (Piero Delbello, I.R.C.I. - ed. Italo Svevo, Trieste, 1992).