The Museum of Apoxyomenos is a building specifically converted to house one single exhibit: The Athlete of Croatia, a famous 192 cm high bronze sculpture made most likely in the 2nd or 1st century BC in a Greek foundry. The sculpture was raised from the sea in the vicinity of the island Lošinj in Northern Adriatic in 1999. The statue is one of the few remaining Greek bronze sculptures from the Hellenistic period and one of the best preserved. A discussion about where to display the sculpture has involved different cities, but in the end, the choice fell to the city of Mali Lošinj. This decision was in line with the Croatian cultural policy from the 1990s, favoring the construction of museums in smaller communities. Museums have demonstrated the capacity to generate social interaction and become true public spaces, so it made perfect sense to display the sculpture right next to the place where it was discovered. The chosen location for the museum was Pallazo Kvarner, an existing building forming the historic waterfront and the city’s facade, the “Riva”.
Credits
Architecture
Randić and Associates; Saša Randić, Idis Turato
Client
City of Mali Lošinj
Year of completion
2015
Location
Mali Lošinj, Croatia
Photos
Jure Živković
