The Small Festival of History on the island of Lastovo

The “Small festival of History” was held between the 7^th -9^th April on Lastovo, one of the remotest Adriatic islands. It is an event which represents a specific combination of scholarship and culture: the idea is to present recent historiography about the island and its broader region to the local public, followed by a cultural event, usually a concert (last but not the least, in the break between the lecture and the concert there is a degustation of local wines). The main goal is to popularize recent historical findings and promote the rethinking of the historical heritage of this little researched insular community which is, nonetheless, excellently documented in the rich archives of Dubrovnik. The event was organized by one of the project members, Lovro Kunčević, as a collaboration of the Institute for Historical Sciences of HAZU in Dubrovnik and the Commune of Lastovo.

This year the Festival consisted of three lectures. The first one, held by Academician Nella Lonza (HAZU, Dubrovnik) dealt with the Statute of Lastovo (1310), investigating the context of its creation, its (anonymous) authorship, and the relations between its several manuscripts. The second lecture was held by Lovro Kunčević (HAZU, Dubrovnik) and focused on the series of rebellions, conspiracies, and incidents which characterized the relationship of this autonomous community towards its Ragusan overlord in the 17^th century, trying to elucidate the protagonists and causes of its remarkable rebelliousness. Finally, the third lecture was held by Irena Ipšić (University of Dubrovnik), and was dedicated to the newly discovered land register of Lastovo from 1660, using it to reconstruct property structure, social relationships, and the economic potential of the island. It is important to stress that, hopefully, this was just a beginning of a tradition: the idea of the organizers is to turn the Festival into an annual event.