The book "Kastav Painting School" by Željko Bistrović, an author who has professionally engaged with topics related to Kastav for many years, was presented at the Fresco House in Draguć in Istria. The research and production of the book were led by the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria.
The publication was funded by European funds within the framework of the Terra Gothica Incognita project, under the INTERREG Slovenia–Croatia 2021–2027 programme.
This is a comprehensive work dealing with the phenomenon of the local painting school active in the last third of the 15th century across present-day Croatian and Slovenian territories. The workshops led by masters Vincent and Ivan from Kastav left behind some of the most valuable cycles of late Gothic wall painting on the Istrian peninsula and in neighbouring regions.
Among these are the frescoes in the church of St Mary on Škrilina in Beram, St George in Lovran, the Blessed Virgin Mary in Božje Polje, the Holy Trinity in Hrastovlje, and St Helen in Gradišče pri Divači.
At the presentation, Dean Jurčić, deputy mayor, spoke on behalf of the City of Kastav to the authorial team. He expressed the expectation that the book, together with the Interpretation Centre of Vincent and Ivan from Kastav, which is currently under construction, will finally valorise the Gothic heritage of the city.
