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The geographic funnel-shape of Kvarner Bay, with its narrow sea channels, serves as a congruous metaphor for Rijeka's exceptional filtering ability and selective receiving of various ethnic populations and cultural references. The shape and the character of the city reflect its turbulent history and uncertain future. In the introduction of his study "Artistic Rijeka of 19th century - paintings - sculpture" Rijeka's distinguished art historian, Boris Vižintin, statistically and descriptively categorizes the population in 'this city of seamen and merchants':
"In the middle of the last century (1851) Rijeka was a real cosmopolitan city even though it only had 9,653 inhabitants consisting of 6,967 Croats, 1,674 Illyrians, 684 Italians, 96 Dalmatians, 76 Hungarians, 52 Germans, 48 Czechs, 13 Englishmen, 1 French, 9 Polish, 8 Russians, 7 Dutchmen, 5 Swiss and 4 Spaniards. According to religion, the majority were Catholics 9,510, follwed by Jewish 88, Orthodox Catolics 35 and Reformists 20."The rapid growth of Rijeka, from a small seaside town into an important industrial, maritime and transit center, was due to its location in the the Austro - Hungarian Empire
In an artistic sense, the exceptional importantance of a filter - within the predominantly middle-European cultural atmosphere of Rijeka - in the 'screening' of cultural impacts from 'exotic' countries was brilliantly presented and expressed by an important exhibition "(Living on the Borders of the Empire", that was organized ten years ago in Trieste's Miramare Castle. Taking into consideration thesis of Croatia's famous art historian Ljubo Karaman, one can understand Rijeka's cultural situation as an explicit example of "border" and "peripheral", where dictation of art styles from the leading cultural centers lost its power of universal canon. In Rijeka, as in other peripheral contexts, hetrogenous artistic expressions resulted from the combination of diverse ethnic and cultural heritages in a context of rapidly changing social and state organizationsThe region's turbulent political history of the 20th century, especially the separation of the city following Italy's annexation by D'Anunzio into Croatian Susak and Italian Rijekafurther emphasized the multicultural, multiethnic and transitional character of the city. According to Vladimir Bedenko, a contemporary Croatian architectureal theoretist, these dynamic political and social processes, compounded by rapid industrialization, have left profound traces in the urban and architectural structures of Rijeka and Sušak. During the seminar 'Secession Architecture in Rijeka,' Bedenko reasonably articulated a brave parallel with the blooming of the so-called Chicago School in the United States; as common characteristics he recognized rapid industrialization, urbanization and the predominance of construction building principals over architectural and decorative framework.After the Second World War, Rijeka and Sušak were integrated in a unique administrative urban unit. However, education, publishing and culture remained as dual institutions (Italian High School, Italian Theater Company, publishing company "Edit", daily newspaper "La Voce del Popolo"). The major economical importance and transit flow of Rijeka's port, along with the relative tolerance of communist regime after its separation from Stalinism in 1948, enabled the more expressive presence of media culture in its (irresistible planetary breakthrough). In the beginning of the 1960's, the inhabitants of Rijeka watched Italian television programs and (thanks to private record collections of sailors pop and rockreplaced relatively early traditional tunes . Finally, perhaps as the most symbolic example of such multi-cultureness, is the splendid art deco building "Fenice Theater", where Marinetti and other elite futuristist, who at the time were connected with fascists, held their performances. After Second World War, this representative building was renamed as "Cinema Partisan," where were rock concerts held and first-run Beatles movies were shown, in timing with the rest of the world. Only 100 meters from the "Fenice/Partisan" Orson Welles chose a historical palace as adequate scenery for his filming of Kafka's "Process".A similar example could have been noticed this year with Rijeka's most agile rock group "Let 3", that tends to various artistic diversions. They organized a presentation of their controversial CD "The Only" in the City Museum of Rijeka and in the "Python", a club only a few hundred meters far away. Their use of the music from the local traditions of carnival and religious processions is an excellent example of complete resementization of traditional rituals in the new media reality of global village. The popularity of their approach has been reaffirmed by the repetition of their performances on the streets of Ljubljana and Zagreb. During Rijeka's metamorphosis from a small town to a thriving city, nourished and built its culture by respecting differences and assimilating various cultural influences and ethnic traditions. In this constantly fluctuating cultural context, transition is the basic and key component. It is this transitional aspect which not only made Rijeka truly cosmopolitan, but also assures the city of regional distinctive features.
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