Culture in the past of Gornja Lastva

The primary school was founded in 1845

The Croatian Tamburitza Society was established in 1919

The Drama Club was formed in 1919

The Photo Cinema Club “Mladost”, founded in 1980, received many awards and recognitions and was one of the most successful clubs in the former Yugoslavia.

The Cultural Heritage Association “Napredak”, founded in 1991, inherited, united and continued the work of several cultural and other societies that had been active in Gornja Lastva in different periods.

CULTURAL EVENTS

The Lastva Festival is the longest-running cultural and entertaining event being organized by the Cultural Heritage Association “Napredak” since 1974. Traditionally held on the first Saturday in August, it always begins with the Boka Navy kolo dance performed by the Tivat branch of this ancient fraternity, accompanied by the Music and Education Society of Tivat; the festival continues with a party and feast in the Cultural Centre, promoting thus the past of Gornja Lastva or its architectural heritage.

The Landscape Days event consists of concerts and exhibitions aimed at promoting the landscape, pointing out its beauty and the importance of preserving it. Under that name the Landscape Days were first organized in 2015 as part of the project Heritage – Driver of Development. All the Landscape Days events take place outdoors, at sites in Gornja Lastva or Vrmac area in order to promote the values and beauty of landscape and show that landscape is the most beautiful stage and should be preserved as such, with the advantages of preserved space being indisputable and obvious.

The concerts organized every year within the Landscape Days have already become a long-awaited tradition and they include:

Concert at Dawn

Jazz at Full Moon Night

Jazz under the Stars

Welcoming Summer

 

EXHIBITIONS

Exhibitions organized by the Association

Numerous exhibitions have been organized so far featuring the themes from the past of Gornja Lastva. Although prepared by amateurs they presented different areas of culture and education and made a valuable contribution to fostering the awareness among younger generations of the former life and cultural identity of Gornja Lastva. Quite significant were the exhibitions dedicated to:

  • 154th anniversary of the founding of the school in Gornja Lastva
  • 80th anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Tamburitza Society
  • People of Gornja Lastva who were the members of the Boka Navy
  • Seals of Gornja Lastva
  • The Municipality of Gornja Lastva
  • Cultural Centre – the House of Education and Culture
  • 90 years of existence and work of cultural societies in Gornja Lastva
  • 100th anniversary of the founding of the Croatian Tamburitza Society Napredak Gornja Lastva

 

Photo exhibitions by members of the Photo Cinema Club Mladost

Exhibitions of photographs depicting the motifs of rural architecture, dry-stone walls, Vrmac area, etc. in order to promote their cultural, historical and natural values and the need for their protection.

Guest exhibitions

Konavle – Cultural Landscape and Architecture

Place: the Buća Summerhouse Gallery, Tivat

The exhibition featured the works from the three students’ workshops of architecture held in 2002, 2003 and 2004. On 55 display panels, the exhibition presented the research work carried out in the villages of Konavle and the Prevlaka Peninsula. The exhibition was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Montenegro.

Bee, man, honey and wax in the traditional culture of Dalmatia

Place: the Buća Summerhouse Gallery, Tivat

Exhibition owner: Ethnographic Museum Split

Author: Dinka Alaupović Gjeldum, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia – Split Department for Conservation

Organizer: Cultural Heritage Association “Napredak” Gornja Lastva

Co-organizer (technical assistance): Cultural Centre Tivat

Financial support: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia

ART COLONY GORNJA LASTVA 2008 organized in cooperation with the Association of Artists of Tivat. The seven-day colony was attended by the following painters:

Miomir Mišo Vemić

Mijodrag Peko Pekić

Dušica Pejić

Radmila Lizdek

Naod Zoric

Ivica Aranđus

Boris Dragojević

Momčilo Macanović

Ratko Odalović

Draško Dragaš

Savo Pavlović

Marko Vasiljević

Ljubomir Popadić

 

PUBLISHING ACTIVITY

Reprint edition of collected works of Don Ivo Stjepčević, realized in cooperation with the Publishing House Gospa od Škrpjela and with financial support from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (2002).

A Century of Culture in Gornja Lastva by Anđelko Stjepčević, publishing was financed by the Municipality of Tivat through the Competition for Supporting NGO Projects.

A picture/coloring book featuring the dialect of Boka Kotorska, intended for children aged five and older, in order to teach them everyday life expressions used in Boka Kotorska and thus preserve and foster the local dialect of Boka Kotorska. The publishing was financed by the Municipality of Tivat through the Competition for Supporting NGO Projects.

Gornja Lastva between Memory and the Present is a synthesis of works of students’ architectural workshops held in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The publishing was co-funded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Media of Montenegro through the 2008 Competition for Publishing Activity.

Croats in the Bay of Boka Kotorska – Migrations, Wedding Customs, Identity, co-authored by Marijeta Rajković Iveta and Matija Dronić (2019), published by the Cultural Heritage Association Napredak Gornja Lastva and Srednja Europa doo Zagreb. The publishing was financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia and the Central State Office for Croats Abroad.

Studies:

Vrmac – Cultural Landscape

Vrmac – Cultural Heritage

Vrmac – Natural Characteristics

Vrmac – Economic Valorization

Vrmac – As Seen by the Citizens

The studies were developed and published as part of the project Heritage – Driver of Development. The project implementers and publishers of studies were the Municipality of Tivat, EXPEDITIO Kotor and Cultural Heritage Association Napredak Gornja Lastva

Virgin Olive Oil – How to Recognize, Store and Use It by Ćazim Alković

A Photo Manual for Olives Pruning by Stanislav Štambuk,

Restoration of Old Olive Trees by Frane Strikić,

Strategy for Renewing Olive Growing in Vrmac by Frane Strikić,

The books were published within the framework of the project New Old Olive Groves, 2019

Annual Calendar. For two decades now, a 12-page annual calendar has been published, featuring different themes related to culture, architecture and ambience of Gornja Lastva and Vrmac Hill in order to promote their preservation.