After Dubrovnik, Zagreb and Split, Rijeka hosts the exhibition “The Longest Journey – The First Voyage Around the World” showcasing the voyage across the Atlantic, begun by Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 and completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano in 1522, owing to the cooperation between the Museum and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain.

Before the inauguration, Marina Medarić, deputy president of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Sandra Krpan, Rijeka deputy mayor and Sonja Šišić, County Head of Culture, Sports and Technical Culture gave a reception in honour of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain, H.E. Alonso Dezcallar de Mazarred in the Marble Hall of the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral. At the reception, traditionally good relationships between the City of Rijeka and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County with the Kingdom of Spain were pointed out, especially in the field of culture, with a mutual desire that this cooperation be further promoted.

On behalf of the Museum, the guests were welcomed by Nikolina Radić Štivić, museum director, who thanked the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in the Republic of Croatia for successful cooperation and the City of Rijeka and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County for their support while realising this exhibition.

Subsequently, Sandra Krpan, deputy mayor addressed the attendees, emphasising the importance of the exhibition and feat that it represented, and especially its setup and presentation in Rijeka, the city of centuries-old connection with the sea. Krpan emphasised the direction of Rijeka towards projects, events and manifestations that would present it as an interesting nautical and maritime destination, pointing out the educational importance of the exhibition and invited schools to organise visits. “Apart from being considered the greatest maritime adventure of all time, the first voyage around the world was the most important voyage in the history of his research. This voyage is a symbol of man’s research spirit of all epochs, his attitude towards the unknown and his desire to travel over and over again beyond the known borders”, added deputy mayor Krpan.

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the Republic of Croatia, HE E. Alonso Dezcallar de Mazarredo presented the programme organised to mark the 500th anniversary of the first voyage around the world. He pointed out his satisfaction with the fact that the exhibition was organised in Rijeka, a city with such a rich maritime tradition and rich history, since the exhibition represented an important segment of history, but also a maritime feat that had changed the world. Ambassador de Mazarredo said that that feat had obtained several particularly important achievements – proving that the Earth was round, opening new routes and enabling research and discovery of the world in the coming centuries. But most importantly – that feat had changed history. He also expressed hope that the exhibition would be interesting to the citizens of Rijeka.