100 Years of Medovo Disaster

The shipwreck of Montenegrin volunteers travelling from America on the Italian steamer Brindisi, on Christmas Eve, 6 January 1916, is the largest mass tragedy in the history of Montenegrin emigrants. On board Brindisi, in front of the Albanian port of Medua (San Giovanni di Medua or Shëngjin), when the ship encountered a mine placed by the Allied forces, there were 540 volunteers from North America who wanted to help Montenegro’s defence against the enemy. The tragedy ended in death of 386 volunteers, while 145 volunteers were rescued. A monument to the unfortunate fallen volunteers, the work of the famous artist Risto Stijović, was erected in Cetinje in 1939, and was officially unveiled and consecrated a year later. The monument was named the Fairy of Lovćen (Lovćenska vila). The Montenegro Post is publishing a commemorative postage stamp and a First Day envelope within the edition “100th Anniversary of the Medua Tragedy”. The author of the conceptual design is Zoran Popović, a graphic designer from Podgorica.