On Thursday, 21 May 2026, at 7 p.m., the exhibition “AB ANTIQUO – European Architectural Culture and the Antiquities of the Eastern Adriatic” was opened at the Sacred Hearts Museum-Gallery Complex in Pula.
The exhibition offers a unique overview of the influence of the ancient heritage of the eastern Adriatic coast on European Renaissance and Baroque architecture, through original drawings, prints, rare books and architectural treatises from renowned European and Croatian collections. Visitors have the opportunity to discover how the ancient monuments of Pula, Salona, Split and Zadar inspired artists, humanists and architects across Europe for centuries.
The exhibition is curated by Prof. Dr Jasenka Gudelj, head of the ERC AdriArchCult project, whose research, in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Istria, has resulted in numerous new insights into the reception of the eastern Adriatic ancient heritage in European art and architecture.
Among the exhibited works are drawings by artists from Raphael's circle and from the da Sangallo family, works by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, prints by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, as well as rare architectural treatises and historical depictions of ancient sites on the eastern Adriatic.
The exhibition will remain open to visitors until 13 August 2026.
