Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.31952/amha.18.2.5
GIOVANNI AND ABDON PAMICH – HISTORY AS DESTINY OR “EMPTY PLACE” IN RIJEKA MEDICAL HISTORIOGRAPHY
Marinko Lazzarich
orcid.org/0000-0003-1401-9610
; Marinko Lazzarich, Sveučilište u Rijeci, Učiteljski fakultet, Sveučilišna avenija 6, 51000 Rijeka, Hrvatska
Abstract
Medical history of the city of Rijeka is a rich treasure trove of events, celebrities and valuable
innovations in the field of healthcare. The historical development of Rijeka was largely determined
by her geopolitical position as a border town with a multicultural population, marked
by strong conflicts of interest and numerous identity turmoil. The great exodus of the domicile
population of Italian nationality after World War II has significantly changed the social
picture of the city. Among many of such esuli (immigrants) were brothers Giovanni (b. 1932)
and Abdon (b. 1933) Pamich, whose lives are reminiscent of the fate of many displaced people
from Rijeka who were forced to live in exile after the war. After leaving their hometown
during the formative years of their childhood, they had successful careers in Italy in the fields
of medicine and healthcare. The older brother Giovanni became a successful surgeon and
the younger Abdon a psychologist. Along with his positions as the head of general surgery at
the Monfalcone and Gorizia Hospitals, Giovanni Pamich was teaching at the University
of Trieste. Abdon Pamich collaborated with the best Italian tennis players in the field of
sports psychology, and was a psychologist for the Italian handball team. They both practiced
athletics, and Abdon Pamich won the silver medal in speed walking at the 1958 European
Championships in Sweden and the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
In addition to emphasizing the achievements of the two brothers in the field of medicine,
this paper also addresses the position of the migrant, which is highlighted in Robert Covaz’s
book “Abdon Pamich, memorie di un marciatore (Rome, 2016), an exciting biography of an
emigrant from Rijeka. The paper also explores the concept of thematizing the limits of differences
and experiences of migration of Rijeka residents facing the existential issues.
Keywords
Giovanni and Abdon Pamich, medicine, psychology, emigration, athletics, Rijeka history, Italy
Hrčak ID:
251593
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2020.
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