The first public meeting last Monday 21st October saw the start of the project ‘1954: Trieste after America. Between a call for tradition and a push for innovation’ of which the Arts and Culture Circle of Trieste (CCA) is the leader. The University of Trieste, linked to the CCA by a three-year framework agreement, will share in the dissemination and promotion of events of recognised educational value, collaborate in the organisation of a round table and participate in the work with expert speakers on various historical-humanistic topics.

The project as a whole promotes and celebrates the 70th anniversary of the reunification of Trieste with Italy, with the aim of retracing and reminding the local community, and above all the new generations, of the complex events and some salient features of that troubled and, at the same time, stimulating period. The proposed scenario will be tackled with an approach that is as objective, multidisciplinary and far removed from ideologies as possible.

The initiative as a whole comprises two lines of action: a set of events with a strong popular impact, concentrated in the proximity of the fateful date of the anniversary (26th October); a series of more in-depth seminars, aimed at consolidating the knowledge of historical facts and maximising the assimilation of the project's cultural message. The latter section will continue until mid-2025.

The next events include the photographic-educational exhibition ‘Trieste USA 1945 - 1954’, which will be inaugurated on 28th October at 11:00 on the premises of the Arts and Culture Circle of Trieste. The exhibition, first proposed by the Associazione Italo Americana FVG / American Corner Trieste in 2014, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Trieste's return to Italy, features a wide range of shots depicting everyday scenes and significant events such as weddings and crucial political moments, including the visits of John F. Kennedy and Clare Boothe Luce. The exhibition culminates with some iconic images, such as the famous kiss by Trieste photographer Ugo Borsatti and the photographs that made history in a packed Piazza Unità on 26th October 1954.