Napoleon's Road in Dalmatia – The Contribution of the French Administration in the Development of Road Construction in Dalmatia at the Beginning of the 19th Century - The Exhibition

The idea of organizing the exhibition originated in the State Archives in Zadar, which preserves numerous sources dating from the time of the French administration and which deal with the emergence of road infrastructure in Dalmatia in later periods. The exhibition includes historical documents, plans, drafts, specifications, budgets, official correspondence, maps and books: a total of 63 originals and reproductions are on display. The exhibition shows how the French administration in Dalmatia initiated and realized the construction of certain sections of Napoleon's road that was to run along the entire length of the Illyrian provinces, from Ljubljana to Dubrovnik and further south. The exhibition was premiered at the French Institute in Zagreb from 18 to 30 June 2019 as part of the event "International Archives Day", and then at the State Archives in Zadar from 19 September to 20 October 2019, for the celebration of Archives Day. This year, in cooperation with the Dubrovnik Museums, the exhibition was hosted in the gallery of the Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik from 5 May to 6 June. The exhibition opened on 5 May 2021, on the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death. On this occasion, the introductory speech was given by French ambassador in Croatia, His Excellency Gaël Veyssière, via a video link. Dr. Julijana Antić Brautović, director of the Dubrovnik Museums and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ante Gverić, director of the State Archives in Zadar gave speeches at the opening of the exhibition. The exhibition was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mrs Jelka Tepšić. The exposition was curated by senior archivist Denis Martinović and archivist Karolina Ražov while Lucija Vuković, senior curator of the Dubrovnik Museums, was the coordinator in Dubrovnik.

Napoleonova cesta u Dalmaciji / Napoleon's road in Dalmatia

The French, with their arrival in 1806, sought to extend their influence to the farthest borders of the newly conquered territory on their way to the East of Europe. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to build roads because in Dalmatia the road infrastructure was disregarded. Historical documents reveal to visitors how road construction during the French administration shaped the area of Dalmatia, determining the roads and routes that we still use today. The exhibition was set up in two gallery spaces of the Rector's Palace. Most of the exhibits are in the main gallery, divided into several chapters and accompanied by appropriate bilingual legends in Croatian and French.

The fast and efficient road constructions in Dalmatia, at that time, was mainly attributed to the Provveditore General Vincenzo Dandolo and Marshal Auguste Marmont. Marshal Marmont's memoirs, his portrait and biography were displayed next to Paul Pisani's book "La Dalmatie de 1797 à 1815", which shows a portrait of Dandolo.

A series of color photo-panels, laid out like a frieze along the gallery wall, shows actual remains of two roads, one on the Pelješac peninsula and the other on Mount Biokovo, above Brela. Photos of these roads were provided by prof. dr. sc. Josip Belamarić and Mr. Ivan Viđen. Under the photo panel of the Pelješac road, there is a reproduction of a map of the city of Dubrovnik and its surroundings which shows old and new roads. The map was provided by the Croatian State Archives.

Provinces Illyriennes Servie et Bosnie / gravé par Jean Baptiste Marie Chamouin ; ecrit par Giraldon, bakrorez, Zbirka Novak. Iz atlasa C. Malte-Brun, Atlas complet du precis de la geographie universelle. Nacionana i sveučilišna knjižnica Zagreb, Kartografska zbirka: ZN-Z-XIX-CHA-1812 / Provinces Illyriennes Servie et Bosnie / gravé par Jean Baptiste Marie Chamouin; ecrit par Giraldon, copperplate, Novak Collection. From the atlas of C. Malte-Brun, Atlas complet du precis de la geografie universale. National and University Library Zagreb, Cartographic collection: ZN-Z-XIX-CHA-1812

"French roads" were built mostly with the help of the local population of the province through which the road was planned to pass. The organizers emphasized the fact that the projects of these roads were made by local engineers who also supervised the construction. A letter from the chief engineer of the Illyrian provinces, Jean-Louis Blanchard, addressed to the chief engineer in Dalmatia, Francesco Zavoreo opens the engineering chapter. In the middle of the gallery wall is a reproduction of Zavoreo's hand drawn map from 1811, which shows Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor with its marked roads and paths. The original map is 247 cm long and printed on canvas which is today quite damaged. Various cost estimates for the construction of certain stages of the road are also on display. The Governor-General of the Illyrian Provinces, General Henri-Gatien Bertrand, a worthy successor to Marmont in 1811 and until the fall of the Illyrian Provinces, advocated the continuation of work on Napoleon’s Road. His letters clearly testify to this and the name of the road under construction is highlighted: Napoleon's Road. One of the walls of the gallery is dominated by a large reproduction of the portrait of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. An anecdote associated with this portrait testifies to the vanity of the great emperor. Actually, the portrait was offered by Marshal Marmont to the Franciscan Province in 1808. In doing so, Marmont sought to calm the tension that arose between him and Napoleon which was caused by his great popularity in Dalmatia. He often stayed among the Franciscans and during his travels regularly stayed in their monasteries. The original portrait of Napoleon was lent by the Franciscan Monastery in Šibenik for the first exhibition in Zagreb.

In the small gallery, selected exhibits belonging to the Zadar engineer Pietro Pecota were presented to the public. Pecota's beautiful hand drawn colour map showing a part of Napoleon's road above Makarska on Mount Biokovo is hung on the central wall (ink and watercolour technique). The map of Dalmatia from 1807 by Johann Walch and the map of the Illyrian provinces from 1812 by Jean-Baptiste Chamouin which are from the holdings of the National and University Library in Zagreb are also on display.

Zemljovid Dubrovnika i Boke kotorske s ucrtanim cestama i putovima u bojama, 1811. autor Francesco Zavoreo, HR-DAZD-383 Kartografska zbirka / Map of Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor with marked roads and paths in colours, 1811 by Francesco Zavoreo, HR-DAZD-383 Cartographic collection

The rest of the exhibition is dedicated to a series of impressive works by engineers who continued to work on designed roads from the French administration during the 19th century. Seven original documents from the holdings of the cartographic collection of the State Archives in Zadar complete the rest of the gallery. An impressive, printed map of the Illyrian provinces by Gaetano Palma from 1812 is presented to the visitors, next to it, the project design for a new road from Knin to the Grab of Luigi d'Emilijs, (ink and watercolour technique). The project of restoration of two bridges in Bribir on the road leading to Skradin (ink and watercolour), drawn by Conradt, was also displayed. The 236 cm long planimetric map showing the new road from Zadar to Drniš and towards Sinj and Klis is inspiring. Visitors can see the map of the built roads, as well as those that are planned, for example the one from Imotski to Makarska (ink and watercolour). The last exhibit is a distance matrix, which shows, among other things, distances between cities in Dalmatia (ink and watercolour).

Even though the built sections of Napoleon’s Road through Dalmatia did not all connect to each other, Marshal Marmont will be remembered as its initiator; Zavoreo and Pecota as its engineers and designers, as will the many local builders, craftsmen, and stonemasons who were involved in building a unique monument amid impossible conditions. Their endeavours in Dalmatia are valuable; they represent a part of Croatian cultural and historical heritage that is left for future generations to preserve and maintain. This exhibition is a small contribution to this aspiration.

The idea of organizing the exhibition originated in the State Archives in Zadar, which preserves numerous sources dating from the time of the French administration and which deal with the emergence of road infrastructure in Dalmatia in later periods. The exhibition includes historical documents, plans, drafts, specifications, budgets, official correspondence, maps and books: a total of 63 originals and reproductions are on display. The exhibition shows how the French administration in Dalmatia initiated and realized the construction of certain sections of Napoleon's road that was to run along the entire length of the Illyrian provinces, from Ljubljana to Dubrovnik and further south. The exhibition was premiered at the French Institute in Zagreb from 18 to 30 June 2019 as part of the event "International Archives Day", and then at the State Archives in Zadar from 19 September to 20 October 2019, for the celebration of Archives Day. This year, in cooperation with the Dubrovnik Museums, the exhibition was hosted in the gallery of the Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik from 5 May to 6 June. The exhibition opened on 5 May 2021, on the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death. On this occasion, the introductory speech was given by French ambassador in Croatia, His Excellency Gaël Veyssière, via a video link. Dr. Julijana Antić Brautović, director of the Dubrovnik Museums and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ante Gverić, director of the State Archives in Zadar gave speeches at the opening of the exhibition. The exhibition was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mrs Jelka Tepšić. The exposition was curated by senior archivist Denis Martinović and archivist Karolina Ražov while Lucija Vuković, senior curator of the Dubrovnik Museums, was the coordinator in Dubrovnik.

The French, with their arrival in 1806, sought to extend their influence to the farthest borders of the newly conquered territory on their way to the East of Europe. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to build roads because in Dalmatia the road infrastructure was disregarded. Historical documents reveal to visitors how road construction during the French administration shaped the area of Dalmatia, determining the roads and routes that we still use today. The exhibition was set up in two gallery spaces of the Rector's Palace. Most of the exhibits are in the main gallery, divided into several chapters and accompanied by appropriate bilingual legends in Croatian and French.

The fast and efficient road constructions in Dalmatia, at that time, was mainly attributed to the Provveditore General Vincenzo Dandolo and Marshal Auguste Marmont. Marshal Marmont's memoirs, his portrait and biography were displayed next to Paul Pisani's book "La Dalmatie de 1797 à 1815", which shows a portrait of Dandolo.

Tiskani proglas cara i kralja Napoleona I. tiskan u Milanu 4. rujna 1806. o uređenju močvara i izgradnji cesta, HR-DAZD-386 Zbirka tiskovina/Stampata, kut. 10, sign. 47/10, 1806. / Printed proclamation of Emperor and King Napoleon I. printed in Milan on September 4, 1806 on the arrangement of swamps and the construction of roads, HR-DAZD-386 Collection of printed matter / Stampata, box 10, sign. 47/10, 1806.

A series of color photo-panels, laid out like a frieze along the gallery wall, shows actual remains of two roads, one on the Pelješac peninsula and the other on Mount Biokovo, above Brela. Photos of these roads were provided by prof. dr. sc. Josip Belamarić and Mr. Ivan Viđen. Under the photo panel of the Pelješac road, there is a reproduction of a map of the city of Dubrovnik and its surroundings which shows old and new roads. The map was provided by the Croatian State Archives.

"French roads" were built mostly with the help of the local population of the province through which the road was planned to pass. The organizers emphasized the fact that the projects of these roads were made by local engineers who also supervised the construction. A letter from the chief engineer of the Illyrian provinces, Jean-Louis Blanchard, addressed to the chief engineer in Dalmatia, Francesco Zavoreo opens the engineering chapter. In the middle of the gallery wall is a reproduction of Zavoreo's hand drawn map from 1811, which shows Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor with its marked roads and paths. The original map is 247 cm long and printed on canvas which is today quite damaged. Various cost estimates for the construction of certain stages of the road are also on display. The Governor-General of the Illyrian Provinces, General Henri-Gatien Bertrand, a worthy successor to Marmont in 1811 and until the fall of the Illyrian Provinces, advocated the continuation of work on Napoleon’s Road. His letters clearly testify to this and the name of the road under construction is highlighted: Napoleon's Road. One of the walls of the gallery is dominated by a large reproduction of the portrait of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. An anecdote associated with this portrait testifies to the vanity of the great emperor. Actually, the portrait was offered by Marshal Marmont to the Franciscan Province in 1808. In doing so, Marmont sought to calm the tension that arose between him and Napoleon which was caused by his great popularity in Dalmatia. He often stayed among the Franciscans and during his travels regularly stayed in their monasteries. The original portrait of Napoleon was lent by the Franciscan Monastery in Šibenik for the first exhibition in Zagreb.

In the small gallery, selected exhibits belonging to the Zadar engineer Pietro Pecota were presented to the public. Pecota's beautiful hand drawn colour map showing a part of Napoleon's road above Makarska on Mount Biokovo is hung on the central wall (ink and watercolour technique). The map of Dalmatia from 1807 by Johann Walch and the map of the Illyrian provinces from 1812 by Jean-Baptiste Chamouin which are from the holdings of the National and University Library in Zagreb are also on display.

Fotografija ceste na Biokovu izna Brela i Makarske, završna serpentina "Francuske ceste" prema moru / Photo of the road on Biokovo above Brela and Makarska, the final serpentine of the "French road" towards the sea

The rest of the exhibition is dedicated to a series of impressive works by engineers who continued to work on designed roads from the French administration during the 19th century. Seven original documents from the holdings of the cartographic collection of the State Archives in Zadar complete the rest of the gallery. An impressive, printed map of the Illyrian provinces by Gaetano Palma from 1812 is presented to the visitors, next to it, the project design for a new road from Knin to the Grab of Luigi d'Emilijs, (ink and watercolour technique). The project of restoration of two bridges in Bribir on the road leading to Skradin (ink and watercolour), drawn by Conradt, was also displayed. The 236 cm long planimetric map showing the new road from Zadar to Drniš and towards Sinj and Klis is inspiring. Visitors can see the map of the built roads, as well as those that are planned, for example the one from Imotski to Makarska (ink and watercolour). The last exhibit is a distance matrix, which shows, among other things, distances between cities in Dalmatia (ink and watercolour).

Even though the built sections of Napoleon’s Road through Dalmatia did not all connect to each other, Marshal Marmont will be remembered as its initiator; Zavoreo and Pecota as its engineers and designers, as will the many local builders, craftsmen, and stonemasons who were involved in building a unique monument amid impossible conditions. Their endeavours in Dalmatia are valuable; they represent a part of Croatian cultural and historical heritage that is left for future generations to preserve and maintain. This exhibition is a small contribution to this aspiration.