The Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" program in this year's Museum Night will begin during the day, in collaboration with the Drama Studio "Ulix", which will bring Rovinj's heritage closer to children's audiences through storytelling from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the MMC space. Prof. Milan Medak, university drama pedagogue and Prof. Sanja Lađarević, drama pedagogue, from the Drama Studio "Ulix" Rovinj-Rovigno, with the participation of third and fourth-year students of the SEI "Bernardo Benussi" and students of the "Juraj Dobrila" Elementary School, will hold an interactive storytelling workshop "Tarta Caterina" on January 31st, intended for lower grade students of Rovinj's Croatian and Italian schools. The day before, January 30th, third-grade students of the "Vladimir Nazor" Elementary School will also listen to the story at the MMC. The main character of the interesting story that values the cultural and historical heritage of the city of Rovinj-Rovigno is the Greek-Rovinj turtle Caterina, who will take children on an exciting journey across the Adriatic, teaching them values such as perseverance and friendship and the importance of intergenerational relationships. It will also encourage them to take an interest in the history of their region and its tangible and intangible cultural heritage, deepen their knowledge of marine fauna, local traditions and fishing equipment, and promote environmental awareness.
The journey of the turtle Caterina begins on the Greek island of Marathonisi, where she was born, and where she listens attentively to the adventures of the older turtle Adriana, who has returned from a long and exciting journey across the Adriatic Sea, which introduces her to the city of Rovinj, the ruins of Cissa, and a ship called a batana. From Adriana's interesting story, Caterina realizes this is where her parents met and, intrigued, decides to set out on her journey and discover the island that bears her name. Caterina sets off a few years later, after she is strong enough to travel, hoping to see the turtle Adriana again, who, now old, weak, and unable to return, has been left to live alone among the islands of Rovinj. Ready for a new experience, the brave and self-confident Caterina begins the journey of her life, where, with the participation of the children, she will learn numerous place names, get to know the Rovinj dialect, realize the importance of caring for the sea and its inhabitants, and find her roots.
The workshop authors and storytellers, by nurturing the tradition of multilingual storytelling, will also create a foundation for the development of self-confidence, self-esteem, critical thinking, and experiencing and expressing different emotions in each child, with an emphasis on the development of communication skills: through words, movement and images.
In addition to this workshop, visitors to the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" will be able to view, from 6 pm to 10 pm, in addition to the permanent exhibition, the interesting exhibition "Ecomuseo as a reference point of Rovinj identity", which with twenty photographs represents two decades of the existence of this respectable heritage institution. They will also be able to experience the daily part of the program uniquely through the projection of workshop videos and photographs on the Riviera wall next to the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo. The experience will be rounded off by the program that will be held from 6 pm to 10 pm among the centuries-old walls of Spàcija Matika (street – via V. Švalba 35) entitled "Bitinàde and gastronomy". In this museum component, visitors will be able to enjoy the typical fish gastronomic offer and traditional indigenous music of the SAC-KUD “Marco Garbin” CI/ZT “Pino Budicin”.