Valorising Transnational Heritage Through Cultural Routes—European Travels in Special Collections of Adriatic Libraries

In this paper, the authors present the possibilities of transnational networking and developing innovative cultural routes through participatory research and creative presentations of European cultural heritage in special collections of Adriatic libraries. The purpose of the research, conducted in the framework of the course Travel Writing and Cultural Routes, was to identify collections that contain travel writing material related to the broader Euro-Mediterranean area and to enable its better visibility through the digitization and creation of new European cultural routes. The students, with the help of librarians at the University Library in Pula, explored special collections, such as the Marine Library, and proposed the creation of new cultural routes, following the itineraries of European travel writers in the Adriatic. The conducted research indicated collections and materials in heritage institutions (archives, libraries and museums) in Pula and Istria relevant to the topics of cultural routes and travel in Europe, as well as regional multicultural history. Libraries in Istria and Dalmatia have valuable collections of rare archival material related to European travels to the Adriatic. The cataloguing and digitisation of rare travel texts has the potential to raise awareness of these collections, adding to their significance for academic research and heritage-based tourism.