Over the past two years, thanks exclusively to its own resources and donations, the Foundation completed the following activities and realised the Old City project, namely:
1- establishment of technical security measures related to using the first floor of the Eco Museum Istrian de Dignan, with partial renovation of paintings and decorations. Everything was done, paid for and donated, with over 100 working hours and expenses amounting to over 1000 euros;
2- valorisation and revitalization for cultural purposes of the old Fioranti Palace in Ulica Pian 13, and modernisation of the old residential part to show how a historical building can be renovated in a contemporary and elegant way taking into consideration its context and restoring the residential function in compliance with today’s standards and needs;
3- reopening the former tavern in Ulica sveti Martin, today’s San Martin Inn, accommodation establishment for the projects of the Foundation, which will launch sustainable tourism and catering activities in this part of the city, religious and spiritual – in silence;
4- renting an olive grove for the production and promotion of Vodnjan’s oil;
5- project of reading to children in a beautiful Italian language, in collaboration with the City Library and Vodnjan Elementary School;
6- reopening a shop in Trgovačka ulica, currently closed due to general indifference and lack of collaboration;
7- renting a house near the Open University with a view to launching the project of the Diffused Ethnographic Museum. Currently closed due to lack of collaboration;
8- educational programme; an old cart, currently situated at San Martin Inn, will become the subject of educational encounters with children in autumn dealing with the theme of conservation techniques;
9- an intervention on the important Baroque entry door of Negri Palace on Vodnjan’s square Trg Statuta launched in 2018, in the European Year of Cultural Heritage, after ten months of waiting for the conservators’ consent. The door was reinstalled in June 2019 and donated to the City of Vodnjan;
10- presenting the Canti da Bateo project at the Venetian Arsenal on the occasion of the international Boat Show in June 2019.;
11- obtaining the consent of the Pula Conservation Department for the installation of solar roof tiles intended for use in protected historical cores on the historical Fioranti Palace.
This is the basis of the Pilot Project of constructing a factory of sustainable solar roof tiles in protected historical cores.
Step by step, activities lined up like a string of pearls, with a full view of performed works and works that are yet to be done in order to achieve the goals: all of the above activities were completed in only two years, exclusively thanks to donations and private funding, without any financial support or collaboration of the city government, public entities or civil services.
The performed works were not restoration works; rather, they were technical security measures in various locations in order for the said locations to be used immediately, in expectation of their architectural and historical renovation. We will be applying for EU and international funding for serious and all-encompassing works.
Palace in Vodnjan, Ulica Pian 13.
These are the Ars et Labor Foundation headquarters.
The ground floor Didactic Workshop for Conservation of Cultural Goods is already functional.
Three first-floor rooms have been remodelled and put into service. These rooms, used for art exhibitions, encounters and conferences, will be inaugurated with the maritime exhibition A DREAM IN A BOTTLE.
Work and accommodation premises in the attic have also been completed.
San Martin Inn
The historical heart of Vodnjan, nearby the eponymous St Martin’s Church, the erstwhile seat of the Inquisition, used to be the site of an abandoned old inn with rooms for rent, a spacious courtyard commanding views of an olive grove, the sea and the Brijuni Islands.
The inn has become a meeting place for collaborators and guests of the Foundation, a venue for encounters and activities related to courses, presentations and promotion of the distinctive features of the Istrian territory.
