The author follows the development of society through the history of Western civilisation, made up of art, customs, historical documents, religion and architecture.
Anton Zakaria (HR) he holds a PhD in art history and archaeology from the University of Sorbonne in Paris and is a contributor to the Larousse Encyclopaedia. In addition to numerous articles in professional journals and scientific papers, he has published two extensive scientific works: Praputnjak – The Croatian Village (Paris 1989) and From Selimir to Zvonimir (Zagreb 1999). Through his work, he has always proved the importance of the area of present-day Croatia for the overall development of Western civilisation. A multidisciplinary approach over the last twenty years has also resulted in the book Europe – contours culturels (cultural contours).
In this work, the author leads the reader from the emergence of the first Palaeolithic people in Europe to the modern man of the 21st century. The whole history of Western civilisation, made up of art, customs, historical documents, religion and architecture, opens up before the reader. We follow the development of a society with the greatest emphasis placed on the individual. In this context, it also deals with the emancipation of women and their invaluable contribution to society. Through the analysis of artefacts, the author shows us the sociological and mental maturation of Western man, through Christianity, it shows his philosophical maturation, and through architecture; his creativity and real, tangible progress.
It is architecture that serves him the most in proving his theory. Zakaria devoted much of the book to the development of the house and its premises, substantiating his theses with numerous photographs and plans of the houses of his hometown of Praputnjak, which plays the role of a model European village, and in this case, one can read about the modern history of Western civilisation.
Zakaria also posits that the territory of present-day Croatia has succeeded in preserving the values of Antiquity, nurturing them and handing them over to the West in order to develop them further there.
The book, written in French, was published through the programme Praputnjak – A Cultural Landscape, which addresses the thinking of the community and its identity, questioning values and heritage, the cultural landscape and nature as a potential for the development of the local environment.