REPRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF WORKS BY CROATIAN AND ITALIAN COMPOSERS IN THE ARCHIVAL LEGACY OF NELLO MILOTTI AT THE FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES IN PULA

Abstract

Part of the musical legacy of Nello Milotti (Trieste, 11 November 1927 – Pula, 10 March 2011) is preserved in the Nello Milotti Hall at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. The Istrian composer completed his secondary music education in Zagreb and graduated in composition from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He worked as a music teacher at the Italian Gymnasium in Pula and later as a clarinet and solfeggio teacher at the Music School “Ivan Matetić Ronjgov”, where he also served as director. From 1977 onwards, he was a professor at the Pedagogical Faculty in Rijeka, at the Department of Teacher Education in Pula. For more than fifty years, Milotti conducted amateur choirs in Pula and Pazin (Matko Brajša Rašan, Lino Mariani and Roženice), achieving notable success in performances both in Croatia and abroad. As a composer, he was active in various musical fields, ranging from popular music, choral and instrumental works to stage music for children’s plays. His compositional work was strongly inspired by Istrian folk music traditions of both Croatian and Italian origin.
This paper examines the valuable collection of musical and documentary materials preserved at the Faculty of Educational Sciences. In addition to Milotti’s autograph manuscripts and printed works, the archive also contains compositions by other authors that are important for documentation, educational purposes and for a better understanding of the cultural and historical context in which the composer was active. Many of these works are directly related to Milotti’s professional activities, including his teaching, conducting and collaboration with choirs and musical institutions, as well as his engagement with musical repertoire.
The archive includes scores, arrangements and music literature used by Milotti. These materials illustrate the broader scope of his professional work and help reconstruct his musical life in the twentieth century. The analysis of works by other composers shows that the legacy represents not only an archival collection but also the working materials of a music educator and composer. It also provides insight into his aesthetic and methodological perspectives, as well as his selection of repertoire for educational purposes. Some of the materials are related to the regional musical heritage of Istria. The collection therefore provides a valuable foundation for future musicological research.
The paper presents the first phase of mapping the Nello Milotti archive, including an alphabetical list of composers and the titles of their works preserved in the Nello Milotti Hall. This mapping was carried out between 1 October 2025 and 1 March 2026. Due to the large amount of material, this article focuses on works by Croatian and Italian composers. The research methodology included analysis, listing, cataloguing and synthesis. The aim of this research is to identify the Faculty of Educational Sciences as a future research site not only for the works of the Istrian composer Nello Milotti but also for the works of other Istrian composers and the broader musical environment in which he was active, thereby contributing to the preservation, protection and interpretation of musical heritage.