A ceremonial academy held in Prnjavor marked the 25th anniversary of the Association of Italians in Stivor – Club Trentini, an organization that for a quarter of a century has been dedicated to preserving the identity, culture, and traditions of the descendants of Italian settlers in Stivor.
The event brought together numerous guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy, including representatives of institutions, organizations, and friends of the Trentino community. The programme was enriched by performances from the choirs “San Osvaldo” and “MisSonanti”, which introduced the audience to part of the rich musical heritage of the region from which the first Italian families arrived nearly 145 years ago.
During the ceremony, participants reflected on some of the most significant moments in the Association’s history. Since its establishment in 2001, the Association has played an important role in maintaining ties between Stivor and Trentino. Through its work, numerous projects have been implemented, scholarships awarded, cultural exchanges organized, and initiatives launched that have contributed to the development of the local community and strengthened connections with the homeland of its ancestors.
A special place in the programme was dedicated to language—one of the most valuable, yet also most endangered, elements of the cultural heritage of the Italians of Stivor. For this reason, the StivorLing project, a digital archive dedicated to documenting and preserving the speech of Štivor, was also presented during the ceremony. Few people know that the Italian settlers brought with them to Stivor a distinctive Trentino-Venetian linguistic variety. Over nearly a century and a half spent far from their homeland, this speech variety evolved under the influence of the local environment, preserving archaic words that have since disappeared even from some parts of Italy, while also developing new expressions. In this way, the unique “stivoroto” emerged—a speech variety that today can be heard only in Stivor. Although the number of its speakers is now very small, interest in studying and preserving it continues to grow. Members of the StivorLing team emphasized the importance of bringing this heritage closer to younger generations through social media content, the digital archive, and other outreach activities. In the near future, the publication of the first dictionary of the Štivor dialect is also planned, representing an important step in its documentation and preservation.
During the ceremony, plaques and awards were presented to individuals and organizations whose work and dedication have contributed to the development of the Association and the preservation of the community over the past 25 years. Three posthumous recognitions were also awarded to individuals who left a significant mark on the life of Stivor and its residents.
The celebration of this anniversary once again demonstrated that the community of descendants of Italian settlers in Stivor, despite the challenges and the passage of time, continues to cherish its heritage and pass it on to future generations. This is precisely the mission of the StivorLing archive: to preserve the language, stories, and memories that form an essential part of the identity of this unique community.
