Exhibition: Secrets from the Waters
Location: Sončno nabrežje
Organizer: Zavod za varstvo kulturne dediščine Slovenije
Free entry
You are invited to visit the exhibition Secrets from the Waters, on display from 8 to 18 September 2026 at Sončno nabrežje in Izola. The exhibition reveals traces of Roman harbours, sunken vessels and other finds hidden beneath the surface of the Slovenian sea.
More about the exhibition:
FIRST INTERNATIONAL DAY OF UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE
On 2 November 2001, the UNESCO General Conference adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, which the Republic of Slovenia ratified and incorporated into its sectoral legislation in 2008. In 2025, the UNESCO General Conference declared 21 August as the International Day of Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Underwater cultural heritage includes all traces of human existence of cultural, historical or archaeological significance that have been preserved underwater for at least one hundred years. Among the fundamental principles of the Convention are the preservation of heritage in situ, meaning at the place where it was discovered, and the prohibition of its commercial exploitation. Underwater cultural heritage is not a treasure intended for searching, collecting or selling, but part of our shared cultural heritage that must be professionally researched, documented and preserved.
Slovenia boasts one of the longest traditions of underwater archaeological research in Europe. Its beginnings date back to 1884, when Karel Dežman organised one of the first systematic underwater archaeological investigations in Europe in the Ljubljanica River near Vrhnika. The technological development of diving equipment and remote seabed survey equipment in the second half of the 20th century also encouraged the rapid development of underwater archaeology in Slovenia. The country has a rich underwater heritage – numerous remains of sunken vessels and ruins of Roman-period harbours have been discovered in the sea, including harbours in Simonov zaliv and Fizine. Research has also been carried out in rivers and lakes throughout the country, including the Ljubljanica River, which was declared a monument of national importance due to the richness of its underwater heritage.
In 2026, we therefore mark the first celebration of the International Day of Underwater Cultural Heritage. On this occasion, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia has prepared several events under the common title Secrets from the Waters. The outdoor exhibition will also be hosted in Izola from 8 to 18 September. It will be on display at Sončno nabrežje.
With these exhibitions marking the first International Day of Underwater Cultural Heritage, the Institute aims to evoke for visitors the feelings of a diver-researcher who, on the bottom of a river, lake or sea, spots an object made by human hands in the sediment. The moment when the outline of an object first appears in the poor visibility of the underwater environment is accompanied by joy and curiosity as to whether this particular object might reveal a new story from the past.
The exhibition will present moments of discovery, such as the dugout canoes from Lake Bled and the Ljubljanica River, a Roman tombstone and a clothing brooch discovered in the Sava River, the three-masted ships Nina and Maria Andrina, as well as a seaplane discovered in the Slovenian sea, among others.
You are warmly invited!
