Canton da paradeîsu
On Friday, 26 June 2026, at 8:00 p.m., the final exhibition in a series marking the centenary of Bruno Mascarelli’s birth will open at the Rovinj Museum. While the previous two exhibitions presented works from private collections, this exhibition showcases Mascarelli’s works from the Museum’s own collection, placed in dialogue with historical, archaeological, and ethnographic objects, as well as documentary materials preserved in the Museum’s holdings. In addition to highlighting the artistic value of the works themselves, the exhibition focuses on the context in which they were created and on portraying everyday life in Rovinj during the period that Mascarelli documented through his paintings. To recreate the atmosphere of the town as faithfully as possible, some objects have been lent by the residents of Rovinj, as well as by artisans who continue to preserve and practice traditional crafts.
The exhibition is structured around several thematic sections, each emphasizing a distinctive aspect of Rovinj in the 1950s and 1960s. The motifs Bruno Mascarelli captured in his paintings are interpreted through selected artefacts that bear witness to a town whose streets were covered in bauxite dust and filled with the scent of fish. Visitors are invited to discover stories of a coastal community marked by the consequences of mass exodus, which brought with it feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, and abandonment. At the same time, this was a period characterized by the establishment of new enterprises, the development of social and sporting life, and the opening of numerous workshops and small businesses, while fishing remained one of the enduring pillars of the town’s identity. An important contribution to the exhibition was also made by the people of Rovinj, whose memories, stories, and loaned materials helped connect Mascarelli’s works with the real experiences and everyday life of the town.
The aim of the exhibition is not to reconstruct the history of the town, but rather to tell several stories from Rovinj’s past and evoke the atmosphere and spirit of the first decades of Mascarelli’s life in Rovinj. It is a tribute to a Canton da paradeîsu (“a corner of paradise,” as the poet Zanini described Rovinj), and an invitation for visitors to discover, through the dialogue between paintings and objects, the many layers of urban life hidden behind the depicted motifs. At the same time, the exhibition is an expression of gratitude to the artist who permanently recorded, shaped, and enriched the legacy of Rovinj through his work.
Closed on Mondays. Free admission.
