The lecture and exhibition Mundimitar: Kraj, Ljudi, Običaji (Land, People, Customs) and the film Countryman revived stories of Croatian migrations and identities throughout the centuries.
In Lećevica, the heart of the Dalmatian Zagora region, on October 13, 2025, a multidisciplinary lecture in a unique manner navigated the Adriatic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean; brought to life was the visual concept of the MUNDIMITAR exhibition: Land, People, Customs (Searching for Molise) by Gabriele Romagnoli, enriched by a lecture by Petar Pecotić, an Australian Croat, author of the film Countryman.
The connection between these two, in principle, non-complementary topics lies in the deeper meaning of the message of its protagonists – “the history and fate of the migrations of the Croatian man”, that is “the continuous and emphasized belonging to an identity”.
“Identities intensively sought by Joseph Williams/Josip Orlović (an aborigine) from Tennant Creek, as well as the clearly aware Nikola Neri, a Molise Croat (1761/1799), who exclaimed shortly before his execution: ‘Don’t forget our beautiful language’, are the categories and challenges by which we identify ourselves,” said Ante Ćaleta, head of the Split Branch of the Croatian Heritage Foundation, in his welcome introductory address. “The fact that you have been coexisting with the space your ancestors derive from since you were children is a prerequisite for a clearer and more complete sense of identity and belonging to your homeland,” said Ćaleta.
The fact that it is possible to enrich the school curriculum and expand children’s horizons with topics related to the Croatian diaspora in overseas countries, but also with the migration of Croats to neighboring European countries, is also evidenced by the fact that the lecture held on October 13, 2025 was attended by almost 90% of the pupils of the Lećevica Regional School, as well as teachers; while on behalf of the Municipality of Lećevica, the lecture was attended by Mayor Ante Baran, municipal head of JUO (Single Administrative Unit) Gordana Maras with associates.
The program cooperation between the Association of Cultural and Artistic Societies of Split-Dalmatia County (SKUD SDŽ) and the Split Branch of the Croatian Heritage Foundation is realized through the promotion of Croatian diaspora topics in areas where this topic has been underrepresented thus far. “The small places in our hearts are true nurseries of ideas and heritage, which, in contacts with the Croatian diaspora, write a different, deeper story,” said Alliance Secretary, Marijana Botić Rogošić.
The schoolchildren’s attention was especially drawn by the lecture by Petar Pecotić, who – in addition to presenting Croatian communities in Australia, as well as clarifying the idea behind the Countryman, which emerged during the COVID pandemic – also answered questions related to the children’s curiosity; from Australia’s sharks and spiders to those related to linguistic features, such as the specific characteristics of Australian English slang, or comparisons with standard British English.
Text: Ante Ćaleta / Photo: Municipality of Lećevica and Petar Pecotić
