Page 154 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

dependence on tourism concentrated in summer fragile locations or locations with limited phys-
months. As a destination, it remains peripheral ical accessibility. These assumptions are in line
in relation to major Croatian tourism hubs, and with current European policy frameworks that
its heritage visibility outside professional audi- emphasise sustainability, resilience, and innova-
ences is low. This discrepancy between rich her- tion in cultural tourism (Rababeh et al. 2024,
itage and physical isolation is not unique just to 2). They also reflect transformations in heritage
Osor, but it is emphasised due to its insular lo- studies and practices, where digital mediation is
cation and infrastructural issues. Access to Osor not just a possibility for representation, but it be-
is shaped by island mobility infrastructure, sea- comes a useful infrastructural layer able to con-
sonal ferry timetables, and climatic factors that nect research, education, and public engagement
affect daily connectivity. These conditions im- (Niccolucci et al. 2022; Hutson et al. 2023; Cas-
pact the flow of visitors and also the circulation sar et al. 2025). Osor has an ideal potential as a
154 of knowledge, as archaeological research results pilot site for such an approach based on several
are largely disseminated through academic pub- factors: the long duration and interdisciplinarity
lications and exhibitions rather than through in- of archaeological research, the clear spatial limits
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 13 (2025), številka 2 / volume 13 (2025), number 2
tegrated public interpretation frameworks. of the historic town, the existence of both mate-
In this article we will try to show that Osor rial and immaterial heritage assets, and the prac-
presents an ideal laboratory for developing new tical constraints on visitor numbers. These ele-
and contemporary models of heritage accessibil- ments make it an exemplary case for testing how
ity that include digital technologies and sustain- archaeological knowledge can be translated into
able tourism principles (Maietti 2023). Instead forms of access that are not dependent on physi-
of proposing activities for the increased physical cal visit of the site.
visitation, we are approaching the issue of acces-
sibility as a multi layered concept that combines Archaeological and Historical Context 1
physical presence, interpretation, and digital Archaeological research shows that Osor’s loca-
reach. The metaphor used in the title ‘between tion at the junction of Cres and Lošinj formed
island and cloud’ expresses the transition from the basis for development of long-term strate-
spatially and informationally limited heritage to- gic importance. Settlement occupation extends
ward distributed, digitally mediated heritage in- from prehistory onward, with increasing com-
frastructures. The concept to ‘Make Osor Great plexity during the Bronze and Iron Ages, when
Again’ is intentionally playful, but analytically maritime exchange intensified across the north-
serious. It does not propose a return to a histor- ern Adriatic (Doneus et al. 2017, 763). Its hin-
ical golden age of urban importance but instead terland and maritime environment formed an
searches for a strategic solution for promotion integrated landscape. During the Roman peri-
and use of Osor’s archaeological heritage with- od it became a municipium. The construction
in contemporary cultural, educational, and tech- of the canal separating Cres and Lošinj, wheth-
nological ecosystems. This is grounded in the ba- er Roman in origin or later modified, enhanced
sic assumptions that archaeological knowledge its position as a maritime gateway. In the early
has limited impact on society if it remains avail- medieval period, Osor had the role of an episco-
able mostly to specialist circles, that small and pal seat, with ecclesiastical authority extending
remote heritage sites require alternative dissem- across surrounding islands (Pactat et al. 2021, 8).
ination models beyond mass tourism and that Churches and monastic complexes are materi-
digital tools enable various forms of heritage al remains that reflect its past role as a religious
access without increasing physical pressure on and political centre (Marić et al. 2014). Vene-
1 For the results of the recent scientific research within the project Osor beyond the myth, consult the remaining articles in this
issue.