Between Margins and Memory: works of Italian women writers of the 19th and 20th centuries in the holdings of the University Library of Pula

PROJECT TYPE: 

Institutional research project of the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula.

PROJECT DURATION: 

1 October 2025 – 30 September 2029

HEAD OF THE PROJECT AND COLLABORATORS:

Head of the research project: Assistant Professor Tanja Habrle, PhD, Faculty of Humanities, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula

Collaborators:

• Full Professor Nives Zudič Antonič, PhD (University of Primorska, Koper)
• Associate Professor Eliana Moscarda Mirković, PhD (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula)
• Associate Professor Martina Damiani, PhD (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula)
• Associate Professor Ana Bukvić, PhD (University of Zadar)
• Assistant Professor Roberta Matković, PhD (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula)
• Ivan Kraljević, Senior Library Adviser (University Library of Pula)
• Sarah Zancovich, Language instructor (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula)
• Alenka Patrun, Language instructor (Juraj Dobrila University of Pula)
• Italian language and literature graduate students

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

The FundusFem project is dedicated to the scholarly study, digitization, and valorization of the literary and cultural contributions of women authors who wrote in Italian in the Istrian region at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The research draws primarily on materials preserved in the collections of the University Library of Pula, with particular emphasis on the Provincial Library of Istria (Biblioteca Provinciale dell’Istria) holdings, which include rare issues of journals, newspapers, and books. Special attention is given to the literary works of Italian women writers such as Enrica Grasso and Giuseppina Martinuzzi, as well as to periodicals such as Varietas, which has not yet been the subject of academic investigation.

Employing an interdisciplinary approach, the project integrates perspectives from literary historiography, gender studies, cultural history, and digital humanities. Its overarching goal is to preserve and promote the women’s literary heritage of the region. Core activities include archival research, transcription, digitization, and the development of a publicly accessible digital repository.

Through its implementation, the project seeks to reconstruct the intellectual networks of women’s voices in Istria and Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, contribute to contemporary research on gender, culture, and language, and enhance the visibility of women in both academia and society. Beyond its scholarly impact, FundusFem also has a strong educational dimension, engaging students directly in research and digital humanities practices.

MAIN OBJECTIVES of the project:

The principal aim of the FundusFem project is to research, document, and valorize literary works of Italian women authors connected with Istria at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The project pursues the following objectives:

• Identification and scholarly analysis of literary and journalistic texts by women authors whose works are preserved in the collections of the University Library of Pula.

• Contextualization of these authors’ creative output within the cultural and historical framework of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with particular emphasis on their social presence and literary acclaim.

• Digitization of original materials and the establishment of the open-access digital repository FundusFem, featuring metadata, bibliographic descriptions, and analytical annotations.

• Development of a methodological framework for studying women’s writing and cultural memory through the integration of literary theory, feminist criticism, and digital humanities.

• Dissemination of research outcomes through academic and professional publications, public lectures, workshops, and exhibitions, thereby contributing to the research profile of the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula and to the promotion of Istria’s cultural heritage.

The project strengthens interdisciplinary research in the humanities, contributes to the preservation of cultural heritage, and affirms women’s authorship as an integral part of European literary history.

LEAD INSTITUTION: Juraj Dobrila University of Pula