Nemanja Zimonjić from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology or Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich, Switzerland, recently brought to Motovun a large group of teachers and students of architecture from many different European countries. With the blessing of Ljubomir Miščević, who runs the Summer School of the Architectural Faculty at the University of Zagreb, they are using the school’s facilities on the upper square. Zimonjić asked me to give a talk to the group this morning. Anything about the hilltown would do, he instructed me. And so I spent about two hours talking about everything that crossed my mind. I covered the essentials of Motovun’s history, its present problems, and some potential future issues. First I walked with nearly fifty people around the walls, and then I ended up on the upper square in front of the school’s building. The last topic I talked about was Vedran Sinožić’s claim that this was the venue of ancient Troy. There was quite a bit of surprise among all the assembled when they heard about the Greek origin of Istria’s name, as well as the peninsula’s place in the myth about Argonauts. When I finished talking, there was a long and loud applause. Several hours later, I was with Martina Pahović when she was telling several friends about the heartfelt applause, which she had heard while at morning mass in the church. “You should have heard it!” she concluded with a chuckle. I made a joke about it, but her story came to me as a big puzzle. I remembered the applause visually, as it were, but I did not actually hear nearly any of it. I could see many hands clapping, and I could see my own hands clapping when I joined the applause at some point. But the sound came to me only when Martina mentioned it hours later. Indeed, it was long and loud. The upper square reverberated with it.

Addendum (December 15, 2015)

As luck would have it, I learned from a source I could not but trust that one of the students who was on the upper square that summer afternoon reported several days later to some friends and relatives that my talk was hard to take on account of my overwhelming conceit and arrogance. Reportedly, the student in question found me no less than ridiculous in my dotage. In retrospect, the applause meant much less to me than this scolding reproach, which came my way by sheer accident. If anyone asks me to give a talk to students visiting Motovun ever again, I will flatly refuse it. Applauses I do not need, no matter how long and loud, but offhand remarks about my conceit and arrogance I need even less. Much less, as a matter of fact. The same applies to any public appearance whatsoever. They are history. Concerning my ideas and opinions, I will make them public only on my Residua website. Anyone who wishes to communicate with me regarding any of my writings can do so via the website’s feedback function. And that is that. Farewell, fellow humans!