Jovan Martinović, archaeologist, scientific, cultural and public worker, passed away

Well-known scientific, cultural and public worker from Bokelje, archaeologist Jovan-Jovica Martinović, MA, died this morning in Kotor, at the age of 88.

Martinović was born in 1935 in Sarajevo in the family of Josif Martinović, a teacher from Bajice near Cetinje.

He graduated in archeology from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb in 1960.

He enrolled in the III degree of studies at the Department of Classical Archeology of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, where he defended his master's thesis in 1967 "The Montenegrin Coast in Ancient Times".

In 1960, he was appointed curator, and in 1970, director of the Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor.

He remained in this position until October 1980, when he was appointed director of the newly formed Municipal Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Kotor.

He retired as a conservation advisor in 2001.

During his work at the Maritime Museum, he published a large number of articles, discussions and books in the fields of archaeology, maritime history, history of the Middle Ages and museology, mostly in the magazine "Annual of the Maritime Museum in Kotor" and in other professional publications.

Among other things, he also wrote the books "One Hundred Jewels of Kotor", "Socio-Economic Structure of Society in Kotor in the First Half of the XNUMXth Century", "Antillean Inscriptions in Crno Giora" and "Legacy of Italy on the Montenegrin Coast".

Even as a student, Jovan Martinović participated in a series of field archaeological researches in northern and central Dalmatia. After graduating, he was actively involved in the work of the team of the Archaeological Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) from Belgrade in the reconnaissance of sites on the Montenegrin coast during 1964-1972.

While working at the Maritime Museum, he collaborated with the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from Cetinje on the terrain of the Montenegrin coast, then in protective excavations in Budva, on Carine and on mosaics in Risno, and in the Spila cave above Perast.

By moving to the head of the Municipal Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, he organized and coordinated the work of numerous factors that participated in the restoration and revitalization of cultural monuments damaged in the catastrophic earthquake of 1979, both in the UNESCO-protected area of ​​Kotor and in other areas of the Municipality.

Also, in parallel with the rehabilitation works, he undertook or organized the obligatory archaeological research in and around those monuments, so he participated in the research of the Hellenistic-Roman necropolis in Budva.

His discoveries of the early Christian basilica under the church of St. Mary "from the river" in Kotor, as well as the discovery of the foundations of a pre-Romanesque church - a martyrium next to the cathedral of St. Tripuna in Kotor.

He was the official head of the research of the Eneolithic and Bronze Age tumulus Velika Gruda in Grbaljsko polje, with finds of European importance. He also participated in the execution of the archaeological project "Risan, the capital of Queen Teuta" organized by the Regional Institute from Kotor and the Archaeological Institute of the University of Warsaw.

He was a member of the board of the Archaeological Society of Yugoslavia, the Museum Society of Montenegro, the Yugoslav Committee with ICOM, the Yugoslav Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, the Society for the Study and Advancement of the Maritimes of Yugoslavia, then the president of the Municipal SIZ of Culture of Kotor, deputy president and president of the Republic SIZ of Culture of Montenegro Above.

He was a member of the Committee for Archeology of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts and a member of the board of the Society of Archaeologists of Montenegro.

He spoke, read and wrote Italian, French, English and Russian, used Spanish and German, and read and translated from Latin and Greek.

Due to his erudition and, in particular, his very detailed knowledge of the cultural past of Kotor and Boka and the maritime history of these regions, Jovica Martinović was an indispensable and extremely reference interlocutor for everyone who wrote newspaper articles, scientific shows or documentaries on these topics.

As a long-time tourist guide, he showed visitors from all over the world with undisguised love in detail the rich cultural and historical heritage of Bokele, capturing the attention of listeners with interesting presentations in which he skilfully brought to life the historical circumstances of the creation of a heritage monument whose world significance was recognized by UNESCO.

Jovica Martinović was a native of Kotor at heart and soul, a scientist who wrote several major works in the field of archeology and art history of importance not only for Kotor and Montenegro but also beyond.

He was also a famous bohemian who invented the "double circle" from tavern to tavern in Kotor, from Šuranje, via Pjaca od riva to Gurdić, a long-time carnival capo and editor of the humorous-satirical paper "Karampana", a builder of boats in a bottle, writer and poet of beautiful stories and songs, a man whose dedicated work means that at a time when Kotor is losing not only its entity but also its identity, the people of Kotor and Bokelji still have a link with the incredibly rich past of the city and the bay.

Martinović's books and writings dedicated to Kotor brought to life the time and the people who made up the life of the city, nobles, commoners, artisans, sailors, merchants, apprentices and servants, rich and poor, showed how a solid economic and legal order functioned in the city, which made it possible prosperity.

Jovica Marinović was one of the last of the constellation of lovers who dedicated their working life to Kotor, one of the "last Mohicans" among the real old, gentlemanly and highly educated Bokelians, so his departure leaves a huge void on the scientific and cultural map of Boka and Kotor.

"Kotor gives everyone a lot, but at the same time it demands a lot. Kotor must not and cannot be loved half-heartedly, with some abstract, platonic love, love without reciprocation. On the contrary, everyone must give him a proportional part of himself, everyone must reciprocate according to his capabilities, because this city deserves the best. I believe that one day all these individual loves of Kotor's friends, women's and realists, amateurs and professionals, will merge into one boundless sea, into one huge powerful wave that I'm sure will succeed in gilding every stone of its existence ", is the dedication of Jovica Martinović in the preface of his book "One Hundred Jewels of Kotor", the city he loved so much and to whose history, culture and spiritual heritage, this Renaissance scientist and prolific cultural worker, dedicated his entire life.