Fiume Fantastika

Located at the crossroads of cultures, nations, economic interests, and ideologies, Rijeka has experienced dramatic ups and downs from the beginning of the 18th century until today, which in turn seriously affected its urban physiognomy. Squeezed between the sea and the mountains, the urban culture of Rijeka is marked by simultaneous conflicts and cooperation between the industrial infrastructure complex and the public domain. The book outlines key episodes of its fantastic history in which numerous dilemmas of global modern society are sharpened to the extreme.
The middle part of the book is devoted to answering the question posed by Hashim Sarkis, director of the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale: "How will we live together?" As a conceptual answer to this critical question for the future of human relations and the built environment, DeltaLab developed the Croatian Pavilion under the title "Togetherness / Togetherless".
The book ends with the Urban Studies Reader containing a series of essays by various authors, shedding light on global and local historical, political, economic, and urban influences on the development of the city of Rijeka.

This book is the result of extensive research centred on the city of Rijeka, carried out by DeltaLab at the University of Rijeka, and made possible by the project Rijeka 2020 — European Capital of Culture.