Apoxyomenos – underwater cultural heritage and museum in the service of the local community and tourism

Abstract

Seventeen years ago, a bronze statue of a young athlete was discovered on the seabed near the island of Lošinj. It was named Apoxyomenos. Immediately after it was discovered, the statue exceeded its cultural and artistic importance and incited deliberations about heritage and the need to preserve it. The beauty and portrayal of details of this unique and very rare artistic underwater find has put Croatia on the world heritage map. There are nations much bigger than Croatia, and world famous museum centres, that cannot boast an artefact as sensational as this one.

Keywords

• apoxyomenos
• museum
• local community
• cultural tourism