On the occasion of the anniversary of the tragic events of March 2004, the exhibition of posters and photographs showing state of the
Serbian Cultural Heritage in Kosovo and Metohija
The March Pogrom 2004-2005
was held in Bari (Italy), Palazzo Simi , between March 17 and 31, 2005.
It was organized by ADIRT (Association for the Protection of Monuments and Rural Ensembles), Bari, Most za Beograd=Un ponte per Belgrado (Bridge to Belgrade) Bari and Center for protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage – Mnemosyne. Owing to support by the University of Bari, Italian Ministry of Culture, Department for the Archaeology of Puglia and the Municipality of Bari.
Preparation of the exhibition materials and the catalogue was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia and the Institute for School Books and Teaching Aids.
The programme also included a round table discussion on the following topic: The Great Artistic and Religious Heritage in Kosovo and Metohija under threat of extinction, as well as a discussion of eminent Italian lawyers and Serbian representatives on the state of human rights in this Serbian region and the future of Kosovo and Metohija, held on March 17th and 18th.
The team of the Serbian experts included Mr. Aleksandar Simić, a consultant of the Prime-Minister, Mr. Dragan Mraović, an ex-consul of Serbia and Montenegro in Bari, Mr. Branko Jokić, director of the Museum in Priština and Mirjana Menković, head of Mnemosyne Center. The Italian party was represented by experts well acquainted with the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, both in terms of the Serbian mediaeval heritage and legislation. These were the representatives of the aforementioned associations and the University of Bari, members of the parliament and representatives of media: Rosa d’Amico, director of the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna; priest Gerardo Cioffari of the St Nicholas church in Bari, professor Nico Perrone from the University of Bari and professor Ugo Villani from the University of Rome, as Luana Zanella, a member of the parliament, acting as a representative of the organization Salva i monastery (Save the Monasteries).
The visitors had the opportunity to see films shot at the filed by experts of Mnemosyne, as well as those made by Ninoslav Randjelović presenting the sufferings and the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.
