Anton Špacapan Vončina: illustrations created while writing the novel Il figlio della lupa / Volkuljin sin

Guided tour and opening of Anton Špacapan Vončina's exhibition

Il figlio della lupa / Volkuljin sin (The Son of the She-Wolf, 2022), a political fairy tale by authors Anton Špacapan Vončina and Francesco Tomada, was translated into Slovenian last year with the help of the European Capital of Culture. The novel is an important work of resistance literature, which is why we at EPICenter will enrich it with an exhibition and a guided tour of the illustrations created during the writing of the novel. Anton Špacapan Vončina will present his illustrations.

About the author: Anton Špacapan Vončina was born in 1975 in Šempeter pri Gorici and has been working between Slovenia and Italy since his early years. He is an illustrator, sculptor, set designer, and enthusiastic collector of surplus material, which he recycles into artistic products. As a set designer – sometimes credited with the Italianized surname Spazzapan – he has collaborated on numerous (mainly Italian, but not exclusively) film projects, including Poslednji Zilnik (Slovenia, 2009), Drevo (Slovenia, 2014), Heretik Menocchio (Italy, 2018), and many others. In 2013, he received the Vesna Award for set design in the film Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot (an Italian-French-Slovenian co-production), and in 2025, he received the Golden Arena Award for set design in the historical documentary Fiume o morte! (a Croatian-Italian-Slovenian co-production).

About the novel: Set in the borderlands of northern Primorska, this is a story about growing up during fascism, a childhood marked by fascist uniforms and the struggle for survival in a small community. The narrative, which winds between legend and memory, is an exceptional portrait of a certain childhood and a certain time, a story that is still relevant today. What was life like during the Italian occupation of Slovenia, how did the most vulnerable and innocent experience it? The title refers to the sons of the she-wolf, a fascist organization that recruited children between the ages of six and eight, but it can also be understood literally, as little Srečko may not be quite like other children...

The novel sold out in Italy.