Valamar Blog

This year has rightly been voted the year of Marin Drzic, and we have already mentioned a few times the events that have been held in Dubrovnik as a part of these commemorations. The crown of the 500th anniversary of the birth of this great man from Dubrovnik occurred at the beginning of this month in Dubrovnik and Sienna, where a large international symposium about Marin Drzic was held in which about 20 world famous academics participated. A strong ‘home team’ was led by Slobodan Prosperov Novak, a man who has dedicated a large part of his life to following the character and work of Marin Drzic. In addition, amongst the many notable academics who spoke about Drzic, there was the famous Shakespearean scholar from the University of Yale, Patricia Parker, and an academic of global repute, Roberto Valle.

A whole series of events were held as a part of this prestigious international academic conference. Most of them were held in Dubrovnik, but some were held in Sienna, which is where Drzic spent a part of his life and where he was the University Rector. On the 6th of September, the Galleria Nazionale hosted a plenary meeting where Morana ?ale, Sandro Damiani, Lada ?ale-Feldman and Vlaho Bogišic participated.

Great people often share similar fates, and one thing that binds them together is that their work is recognized after their death. This is what happened to Drzic, and for the whole of this year, during the 500th anniversary of his birth, the significant contribution that this great resident of Dubrovnik has made to European culture will be commemorated. He is someone to whom we are all indebted.

Marin Drzic was one of the greatest Croatian renaissance writers, a man who at the peak of his creativity wrote two comedies: “Dundo Maroje” and “Skup”, works that are still very pertinent even though half a millennium has passed. In addition to being a writer, he was also active in many other social areas, and caused a number of controversies in his time. Amongst other things, he was a Priest, a University Rector, and a political activist. In short, he was a man whose enormous zest for life, unique character and the interesting life path he took has definitely inspired many generations.