Histrokozmos

Histrokozmos, the new "fair within the fair" centered around the topic "Wine Tales" was welcomed with fanfare at the 29th Book Fair(y) in Istria in 2023. It presented the overture to the central theme of the jubilary 30th Book Fair(y) – the Microcosmos. „Istria is the microcosmos of the Book Fair(y). Our 30-year-long journey consisted of constant intertwinement of the peculiar character of Istria – a 'little continent' and the 'grand world'“, the director of the Book Fair(y) Magdalena Vodopija explained the motivation behind establishing Histrokozmos.

Aiming to explore and rethink the multifaceted character of contemporary Istria, Histrokozmos focuses on collecting the remaining fragments of the cultural whole – now scattered through the workings of new globalization and bureaucratic trends – and finding a model that would connect the genuine breakthroughs in the field of culture and art. Its name carries the typical self-ironic signature of the artist and Book Fair(y)'s designer Mauricio Ferlin, who also gave Histrokozmos its visual identity. 

The first edition of Histrokozmos was dedicated to the great microcosmos of Istria – Franko Lukež (1952.- 2022.), a renaissance man and a visionary who has, in his distinctive, simultaneously traditional and contemporary manner, paved a path for Istria, its gastronomy and enology, to shine at the European and world map.