550TH ANNIVERSARY OF BIRTH OF MARKO MARULIC MARKED

SPLIT/OMIS, Aug 19 (Hina) - The 550th anniversary of the birth of Marko Marulic, the father of modern Croatian literature and a great Croatian and European humanist, was marked in Split and Omis on Friday under the auspices of the Croatian National Sabor. The event was organised by the Split-based centre for the research of Marulic's work and his age "Marulianum" and the Croatian Writers' Society, which marks its 100th anniversary. Two new books on Marko Marulic by academician Mirko Tomasovic, "Marko Marulic: Anthology and Prose" and "New Years With Marul", were presented during the event. Marko Marulic was born on August 18 1450 in the north-eastern part of the Diocletian palace in Split. A lawyer by profession, he held correspondence with great men of his age, was an expert in the Bible and classical authors, wrote in Croatian, Latin and Italian and his works were read by kings, vice-roys and commoners. Marulianum has so far published 16 volumes of Marulic's collected works, along with the encyclopaedic "Maruliana". Marulic's works have been published in 12 languages. Public interest in the work of the distinguished European humanist and Christian writer has revived over the past several decades. Marulic's epic "Judita" has been published or is being translated into English, German, French, Spanish and Hungarian. The 500th anniversary of the epic will be marked next year. (hina) rml