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The “strasse” of the Exiles moved again to another warehouse of the Old
Harbor In Trieste

Relocation of Istrian memories:
Hangar 26 is needed by the Authority

There is no peace for the household goods of the Exiles, preserved for the last fifty years in a few warehouses the Old Harbor. Over 1500 cu meters of furniture, household goods, utensils and agricultural tools, which had been stored in warehouse 26, soon are going to be urgently transferred elsewhere. A fax to this effect has been sent by the Port Authority to the IRCI ((Istituto regionale per la cultura istriana i.e.Regional Institute for the Istrian Culture) “the owner” of the GOODS which should be moved by January.

The Authority has expressed its willingness to provide an alternate solution. Accordingly other warehouses have been surveyed in the Old Harbor. A week ago the Port Committee has awarded the IRCI adequate space in warehouse 10. The problem has then be resolved for now, but it is evident that the IRCI has been confronted with an accomplished fact, since after all these years everyone had forgotten all about these household goods. In any case the transferal is going to cost about Lit.70 million {about US$350,000) whereas the IRCI annual budget does not exceed Lit. 200 million.

While awaiting for the Museum of the Istrian Culture to be ready (this has kept the Municipality and the IRCI busy for some time), an edifice in Via Torino has been singled out and the project should be chosen (sic!) [Selected? awarded? N.B.E.] in the spring. .What will shortly happen is the second transfer of the household goods.

Since the beginning of the Exodus, in 1947, thousands and thousands of pieces of furniture, various objects and tools., the few thing that the Exiles managed to bring along. were piled up in warehouse 22 of the Old Harbor, where they remained till 1988, when that building was demolished to allow the construction of the l’Adriaterminal. A portion of the household goods was then lost due to the introduction of the excavating machines. While emptying the warehouse a fire destroyed another quantity of those poor goods.

So what was salvaged (the 1500 cubic meters previously mentioned) was then transferred to warehouse 26. And there it remained until today. And now, as we were saying. [we see] the second relocation But even warehouse 10 will have to be reconstructed, given the fact that in February [2001] the project for the full conversion [reconstruction] of the Old Harbor will be ready. What then will become of those poor goods?