The Legacy of the Polesini Family Is Now in the Poreč Museum

This year, the local museum of Poreština is richer for several hundreds of museum objects that make up an exceptional artistic, photographic and book heritage, as well as the legacy of the Polesini family documentation. It documents the history of one of the most important Istrian noble families, but also the life of Poreč and Poreština from the end of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century. Yesterday, in the Istrian Parliament (Istarska sabornica), it was presented to the public by the director of the Local Museum of Poreština, Elena Uljančić, and the mayor of Poreč, Loris Peršurić.

The cooperation between the Poreč museum and the last descendant of this family, which has been present in Istria for almost 700 years, began about twenty years ago when Gian Paolo Polesini started writing a book about his family and came to Poreč to research his rich family history. This journalist and film critic, who lives and works in Udine, has a very interesting view of everything that happened to his family, which he partly described in his book “Sangue blu” (2007), which was also presented in Poreč in 2010.

Museum research in the field and conversations with older fellow citizens showed that the Polesini family was the most popular noble family in Poreč. They had the highest noble title, great wealth based on agriculture, and people loved them because they were also humane towards the colonists who worked for them, explained Uljančić.

In the last ten years, the Poreč museum bought from Polesini silverware with the family coat of arms, miniatures of family portraits, valuable textiles – a baby pillow on which male descendants were laid, and a corset, while Polesini donated to the museum part of the family’s photo collection, the liturgical equipment of the bishop of Poreč, and a glass with family coat of arms.

At the end of last year, the City of Poreč provided funds with which 8 valuable objects were purchased: three paintings depicting members of the Polesini family from the 19th century, noble certificates from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a ring gifted by Emperor Francis I, silver cutlery and a photo album with photos of Isabella Castle from the end of the 19th century. With the purchase of items from the family collection, Polesini’s museum fund was completed with works of exceptional cultural-historical and artistic value for local and national history, culture and art, Uljančić added.

Polesini generously donated a significant number of items to the museum – various printed matter, books and manuscripts, as well as two photo albums, which enriched the photo collection by more than 800 photos, taken during the 1920s and 1930s. It is a photo library with meticulously described years, people and motifs in the photographs, which speaks volumes about the family’s love for Poreč. The photos illuminate the everyday life of the family, but also a large number of details about Poreč, its surroundings, especially Červar, and the way of life. Photos of his father Benedetto taken during his military education and training occupy a significant place.

Citizens will be able to view the collection of recently purchased and donated items as part of the Museum Night program, which will be held on January 27 in the Istrian Parliament.