3^rd HISTROKOZMOS
Guest count(r)y: Šibenik City and Region

28^th November - 7^thDecember 2025
Home of Croatian Defenders

The third edition of Histrokozmos, the “Fair within the Fair,” was met with great public interest. As part of the 3rd Histrokozmos, numerous authors, artists, scientists, winemakers, enologists, and entrepreneurs took the stage at the Home of Croatian Veterans, Pula City Gallery, and Gallery Cvajner, exploring contemporary Istrian identity through its past, present, and future. They were featured in a diverse range of programmes – Sakramenske, Pula is Bursting, Vita, Vita, Wine Tales, and Droplet in Stone, a special programme dedicated to Šibenik and Šibenik-Knin County, the “guest county” of the 3rd Histrokozmos. Authors who have made important and distinctive contributions to the fields of culture, art, science, and entrepreneurship, and who have helped place Istria on the European and world map, were featured in the 16 programmes that took place as part of the 3rd Histrokozmos. A work from the scholarly legacy of linguist, lexicographer, university professor, writer, and academician Goran Filipi (1954–2021) – a revised and expanded edition of Betinska brodogradnja: Etimologijski rječnik pučkog nazivlja (Shipbuilding in Betina: Etymological Dictionary of Vernacular Names) – was presented as part of the programme Pula is Bursting, alongside the photo-monograph Pogled iza horizonta (A View Behind the Horizon) by Tonči Pavlinović and a book of haiku poetry by Dejan Pavlinović. The programme Sakramenske featured entrepreneur and scientist Milena Mičić, director of the Ethnographic Museum of Istria Ivona Orlić, Istrian poet Loredana Bogliun, ethnomusicologist and anthropologist Ana Hofman, and photographer, architect, and leader of the Praksa Choir Edna Strenja, along with members of the choir. As part of the programme Vita, Vita, the 20th anniversary of lexicography in Istria was celebrated with the participation of Bruno Kragić, Igor Duda, Maurizio Levak, Josip Šiklić, and Robert Matijašić, who also participated in the programme Breakfast With the Author. The programme also featured the premiere presentation of the book Naš kanat (ni)je lip: tradicije tradicijskog glazbovanja u Istri (Our Songs Are (Not) Beautiful: Traditions of Traditional Singing in Istria). The 3rd edition of Histrokozmos included two exhibitions. The exhibition Perspektive – mladi umjetnici Istre (Perspectives – Young Istrian Artists), held at Pula City Gallery, featured artworks by Marina Rajšić, Elena Kiss, Marko Človek, Rino Banko, and Nina Turina, curated by Mladen Lučić – Luc. The photo exhibition by Igor Tomljenović, part of the programme Droplet in Stone, was organised in partnership with the City of Šibenik and Šibenik-Knin County and held at Gallery Cvajner. It was accompanied by the presentation of the monograph Kapi kamena: Leksikon ljepote šibensko-kninske županije (Droplets of Stone: Lexicon of the Beauty of Šibenik-Knin County), featuring works by the same author. The same programme, held at the Home of Croatian Veterans, featured a presentation of the book Stari Šibenik: kalama, skalama i butama (Old Šibenik: Through Alleys, Stairways and Shops) by Milivoj Zenić, as well as a discussion on the cultural scene of Šibenik with representatives of the initiatives Fortresses of Culture and Collective 4B and the festivals Fališ and Škure. The discussion was accompanied by a presentation of wines by Šibenik winemakers and moderated by Emir Imamović Pirke. The Histrokozmos exhibitors’ marketplace offered books from Istrian publishers, as well as books about Istria from publishers across Croatia, along with wines from Istrian winemakers gathered at the IQ Istrian Quality stand. Selected winemakers were presented in the programme Wine Tales, hosted by Jan Franjul.
Matko Plovanić, a long-standing collaborator of the Book Fair(y), created the design for the 3rd Histrokozmos. This year, a new programme board was also established, featuring Eric Ušić, Edi Cukerić, Dunja Ivičić, Matko Plovanić, Lara Manzin Grganja, Jan Franjul, and Iris Mošnja.