On September 26, the Rovinj community celebrated 20 years of existence and successful operation of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana", unique in the Adriatic and Mediterranean and registered in the UNESCO register of best practices for preserving intangible cultural heritage.

On that day, the heritage spoke in the most beautiful words on the Great Pier through brass music compositions, speeches by distinguished guests, the SAC-KUD song "Marco Garbin" Comunità degli Italiani - Italian Community "Pino Budicin" Rovinj-Rovigno, poetry in the Rovinj dialect by Libero Benussi and through 20 photos printed on canvases in the shape of a lugsail that made up the exhibition "Ecomuseum as a reference point of Rovinj identity" opened on that occasion.

Along with the fluttering of the small sails on which the photographs told about the past two decades, the big ones were fluttering as well, because the Rovinj batanas "Regina" and "Peîcia" on this occasion replaced the sea with the Big Pier and became a wonderful backdrop for joyful and proud moments which the members of Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" shared with fellow citizens, associates, guests and visitors. Ecomuseum members Alessandro and Gianpietro Venier, Remigio Bogešić and Edi Poropat demonstrated the art of mending nets and building them under the watchful eye of the oldest member and legendary barkariol (boatman) Giordano Banich.

The solemnity of the celebration was magnified by the mayor of Rovinj-Rovigno, Marko Paliaga, the deputy mayor of Rovinj-Rovigno, David Modrušan, the representative of the Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Sandra Čelić Višnjić from the Conservation Department in Pula, the president of the Coordination of Associations for preservation and revitalization of the maritime, fishing and shipbuilding heritage of Kvarner and Istria, Robert Mohović, parish priest of St. Euphemia, Vilim Grbac, then Davor Trupković, who made an irreplaceable contribution to the development and work of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana", director of the Institute for Art History in Zagreb, Katarina Horvat Levaj, Vice-President of the Istrian Region, Jessica Acquavita and general secretary of the Croatian Commission for UNESCO Rut Carek.

Also present were representatives of institutions, associations, societies and subjects of civil society of the City of Rovinj-Rovigno and the County of Istria, representatives of the Maistra and Valalta companies, and many who have supported and assisted the work of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" in any way over the years, as well as the media that made him recognizable in the country and abroad since 2004.

Nives Giuricin, director of the Institution "House of batana - Casa della batana" welcomed all those present on her behalf and behalf of the president of the Association "House of batana - Casa della batana" Ennio Cherin and the vice-president of the Association-Associazione and the founder of the Ecomuseum -Ecomuseo "Batana", Marino Budicin, pointing out: "Like many of you, I remember with what enthusiasm and enthusiasm we inaugurated the first ecomuseum in Croatia on September 9, 2004, precisely our Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana". Since that day, for two decades, our members have been tireless and irreplaceable promoters and caretakers of the living Rovinj tradition. We pay tribute to all those who built the great story of Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo, which is so beautifully evoked by the painting "Rovigno le batane e le sue vele" (Rovinj batanas and its sails) by Matteo Budicin, painted in 1988, which was given to us donated on this occasion by his son, Riccardo Budicin".

Libero Benussi, a longtime collaborator and author of the bilingual book "Rovinj batana and its sail - La batana rovignese e la sua vela", expressed his great satisfaction that on the occasion of the big anniversary, its second edition saw the light of day. At the time of publication, this book was one of the rare works entirely devoted to the small and traditional vessel, and as such entered the history of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo as a basic text and an excellent handbook on batana. Libero Benussi also expressed his love for that Rovinj batana with verses spoken in the Rovinj dialect that touched everyone gathered.

The Mayor of  Rovinj-Rovigno, Marko Paliaga, congratulated the Ecomuseo-Ecomuseo on its great anniversary, which he said came from the heart of the community. "This is a place where tradition meets the future, a story that lives as part of a community, our shared responsibility towards our ancestors and future generations to whom we have provided and continue to provide the necessary support".

Then the president of the Coordination of Associations for the Preservation and Revitalization of the Maritime, Fishery and Shipbuilding Heritage of Kvarner and Istria, Robert Mohović, addressed the audience: "On behalf of the Coordination and the Mošćenička Draga Ecomuseum, I would like to emphasize that the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" was a model and beacon for us during our founding. Its achievements are impressive, and his contribution to a systematic approach to the preservation of our common identity at the very beginning is of great importance. I am glad that for 10 years, through the activities of the Coordination and all other collaborations, we have been working on a systematic approach to the preservation of the maritime, fishing and shipbuilding heritage of Istria and Kvarner, and that we are an inspiration and encouragement to each other to do even more," emphasized Robert Mohović, handing Rovinj friends two special recognitions.

Vice-President of the Istrian Region Jessica Acquavita said, "Being here today is truly a special honor. It is important to say that the City of Rovinj-Rovigno, despite its growth in all segments, has never given up its identity and customs. A big thank you goes to everyone who diligently preserved our heritage and who raised a small local story to an international level that will certainly be successful in the next 20 years".

The general secretary of the Croatian Commission for UNESCO, Rut Carek, who followed this project from the beginning, expressed her great satisfaction that the story of Rovinj's batana became part of world heritage: "We are very proud of the success of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana", which I see as a holistic combination of valuable traditions preserved thanks to the efforts of the local community, which achieved cooperation with experts with the support of institutions, Tamara Nikolić Đerić, professional program manager and current director Nives Giuricin".

In the 20 years of successful operation of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana", a number of activities, projects and contents have been organized and realized, among which we single out the most significant: 18 organized Rovinj regattas of traditional boats with lug and lateen sails, to which regatta manager Alvise Benussi made a great contribution, the launched batana regatta on oars in memoriam Corrado Pellizzer, participation in regattas of traditional boats along our coast, opening of the Spacio Matika tavern where, as well as on Rovinj's Big Pier, fishing tradition evenings were held under the leadership of Fabio Cherin and today Jasna Bešker.

Little Shipyard/Peîcio squero was opened, and the art of building Rovinj batana was entered in the Register of Cultural Properties of the Republic of Croatia. Positioning at the world level was successfully achieved, with the greatest success being the entry of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" into the UNESCO register of best practices for the preservation of intangible cultural heritage in 2016, as well as participation in numerous EU projects. As a new impetus to development, in 2021 the Institution "House of batana - Casa della batana" was founded.

The museum space, where visitors are welcomed by manager Ornella Godena, shone in 2022 with a new permanent exhibition. Thanks to the "Journey with the batana", its biggest attraction and the interactive installation by "Studio Sonda", the new exhibition was crowned with the European Design Award. In the same year, the art of sailing with a lug and lateen sail along the Croatian coast was registered in the Register of Cultural Properties of the Republic of Croatia, and the Advent program "Nadal in famia" was launched with the exhibition of the same name. In 2023, the first concert walk "Col chiaro della luna" was held with the artistic directors, Alessio Giuricin and Giovanni Cestino.

It is also worth noting the publishing activity during which the books "Rovinj batana and its sail - La batana rovignese e la sua vela" by Libero Benussi, "Recipes from the House of batana - Le ricette della Casa della batana" by Marisa and Sergio Ferrara were published, and the holding of the first multimedia exhibition "Cuntrada a place of memory of childhood / il luogo dei ricordi della nostra infanzia" and the published bilingual book of the same title by the author Tamara Nikolić Đerić.

"We celebrated our big day in the most beautiful way possible. We want to thank everyone who enhanced our celebration with their arrival and emotion, and everyone who contributed to the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" reaching such a significant anniversary of the successful preservation of Rovinj's heritage, which we carry with equal love and enthusiasm in the third decade of the existence of our Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo" pointed out Nives Giuricin, director of the Institution "House of batana - Casa della batana".