Museo della civiltà istriana, fiumana e dalmata e Magazzino 18

The Museo della civiltà istriana, fiumana e dalmata documents the culture and history of Italians from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia, including the post-war exodus and the lives rebuilt in exile. Its collection includes household goods once deposited in the old port’s Magazzino 18, alongside archaeological finds, artworks, documents, books, prints, drawings and photographs.

Why it matters

After the Second World War, families leaving Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia brought their household belongings to Trieste. Furniture, work tools and personal objects were stored in Magazzino 18, where they became a record of displacement and exile. The museum, managed with the Istituto Regionale per la Cultura Istriano-fiumano-dalmata (IRCI), preserves these objects as part of a broader history of Italian culture on the eastern Adriatic shore.

What to notice

The ethnographic collection includes the household belongings deposited in Magazzino 18, providing a material record of family life and forced displacement. Other collections bring together archaeology, art, documents, books, prints, drawings and photographs that trace the Italian presence in Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia. The scale of the Magazzino 18 deposit—more than two thousand cubic metres of goods, according to the regional heritage network—conveys the volume of possessions carried into exile.

Context and history

The museum first opened at IRCI’s headquarters on Via Torino. Its collections later began moving to Magazzino 26 in the Porto Vecchio, while IRCI’s library, archive and offices remained at Via Torino. The old port warehouses are part of the story: Magazzino 18 held exiles’ belongings, and Magazzino 26 now houses museum displays about the region’s history and culture.