This exhibition follows the two ways – first the history of Rijeka / Fiume during what is known in the European history ‘la bell epoque’. This is the time from 1870 until 1914 when, thanks to Hungarian government the city of Rijeka blossom. The city turns into a real metropolis, with growing industry and traffic, especially the traffic of at the time top modernized port. Along with economic growth, social life also becomes very interesting and majority is settled in Rijeka’s famous café and restaurants.
Cafés become popular during this period especially in Vienna and from there this fashion spreads throughout Austro-Hungarian cities and towns. Those were also the places where someon could eat a very good and delicious cake. In Rijeka’s cafés for a long period a visitor could offer ‘rigojanci’ cake without probably knowing that the cake is a part of austro-hungarian tradition, and that the cake was named after a famous Hungarian violin player.
So who was Rigo Jansci after whom the cake was named? A Hungarian gipsy violin player who was lucky and talented enough to play in some famous Parisian restaurants and cafés. He even seduced (or he was seduced by) an American woman married to a Belgian Prince. Rigo Jansci and Clara Ward princes of Caraman Chimay were so much in love and their passionate relationship and marriage were so famous that one of the chefs dedicated a cake to Rigo Jansci.
The love of Clara and Jansci did not last, but the cake rigojanci can be still found in some Rijeka / Fiume cafés.
This exhibition will be presented in the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka from 22. 09. 2018 until 04. 02. 2019.