1^st HISTROKOZMOS
Wine Tales

24th November - 3rd December 2023
House of Croatian Defenders

Histrokozmos, a new "fair within the fair" centered around the topic "Wine Tales" was the greatest novelty of the program at the 29th Book Fair(y) in Istria. It also presented an overture into the jubilar 30th Book Fair(y) and its central topic "The Microcosmos". Histrokozmos was initiated by Boran Kalčić, its name and visual identity devised by Mauricio Ferlin, and it comprised 14 programs that took place over 9 days. Writers, philosophers, enologists, winemakers, and the other participants explored the „miraculous character“ of Istria by collecting and confronting the fragments of its identity. The first edition of Histrokozmos was dedicated to Franko Lukež, the father of contemporary Istrian gastronomy, a renaissance man, a „gastrosopher“, a multifaceted intellectual, and a writer. His thoughtful, authentic, yet broadly relevant tale about wine and Istria formed the foundation of the "Wine Tales“.The program began with the announcement of the first book to be published by Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada within the scope of the Lukežijana editions, titled "Prvi tom – Poslovice Franka Lukeža“. This book will include ethnographic materials of lasting value - sayings about food and drinks, meticulously collected by Franko Lukež, that pierce deeply into the core of the Istrian lifestyle. The program Lukežijana (Lukesiana) was followed by Terre Magiche (Lands of Magic), Med i Teran (Land of Honey, Sea of Wine), Vrajža raca – mali cabaret za Dragu Orlića (Devil's Offspring – a tiny cabaret for Drago Orlić), roundtable discussion of "Philosophy of Wine" by Bela Hamvas… Programs in Cafe Mozart were abundant with poetry, music, wisdom, and memories, as well as new pieces of knowledge and flavors. The first Histrokozmos, hosted by Roberta Razzi in a manner of cabaret, will be remembered by its intriguing guests, the Istrian microcosmoses - Tamara Obrovac, Dario Marušić, Korado Korlević and Milan Rakovac, who contacted the audience from his warm "cuisine of verses“, painted in passionate colors by the actor Valter Rosa; the authors of the Book Fair(y) - Boris Dežulović, Vlaho Bogišić, Ivica Ivanišević, Dragutin Lucić Luce, Andrej Nikolaidis, Živko Skračić and Sinan Gudžević; the winemakers of Vinistra and sommeliers of Croatian Sommelier Club. Histrokozmos proved that everything was possible; a powerful concert of Edi East Trance Blues Band, dedicated to Franko Lukež, took place in the middle of the day, while Tamara Obrovac showed how compositions inspired by vinegar look like. The splendor of the program poured into the shelves filled with books, wines, olive oils, and the signature bag titled "A Litre of Literature“ carrying the memory of this fair(y) tale.