Traditional Festivities in North Istria in Terms of Authenticity and (Dis)Continuity

Abstract

This article is derived from the project Turizmo Ištriano (Programme las Istre), the main aim of which was to observe the intangible heritage of North Istria from an ethnological point of view, within which our focus was on traditional festivities. Instead of a tourist valorisation 'from above, ' the focus of this ethnologic research was directed towards the perceptions 'from below, ' on how people perceive the local intangible heritage. Questions were raised about the so-called 'authenticity, ' continuity, or discontinuity of the traditions and their relation to tourism. The research has shown that a significate element of the break of tradition of šagre can be found in the massive migrations after wwii in the rural part of Istria, which is related to the consequences of the so-called 'Istrian exodus. ' It has also been shown how vital it is for the tradition to survive is its adaptation to the needs of the present. It was shown that people do differentiate between šagra (local character, no tourist promotion), and the 'massive' events that are attempting to attract tourists by selling products, presentation of 'old days' customs, traditional dresses, etc. that represent a 'staged authenticity. '

"Memories of a Forgotten War" and Their Contemporary (Dark) Tourism Implications: An Istrian Media Perspective

“…By considering the media perspective of memorial events, WWI-related memorial practices, and their relation to dark tourism, this research provides a new understanding of Istrian memorial events, which, however, cannot always be included in the dark tourism context; this is, after all, consistent with the claims of Kennell et al (2018), because local communities understand/experience these events/processes in their own way (Dolenec & Vodeb, 2022;Kavrečič & Hrobat Virloget, 2019;Vojnović, 2020). This research thus showed the local and wider scope of memorial events in the region marked by tourism.…”

“…Examples show that this can be an important part of tourism supply (see Biran et al, 2011;Chronis, 2012;Šuligoj, 2019;Kennell & Powell, 2021). To avoid excessive simplification, such heritage is not exclusively related to dark tourism and non-local visitors (Kennell et al, 2018) but also to local communities (Dolenec & Vodeb, 2022;Kavrečič & Hrobat Virloget, 2019;Vojnović, 2020). Moreover, it is also attractive to the media, which thus generates a culturally distributed collective memory (Pavlaković & Perak, 2017, p. 301) and, simultaneously prevents social amnesia (Lury, 2004).…”

Media-generated characteristics of Homeland War–related commemorations in Croatia

“…Commemorations attract overnight visitors (tourists) or excursionists (same-day visitors) that visit a main destination outside their usual environment, which fundamentally defines tourism (United Nations Publication, 2010). Moreover, such events are also visited by local residents (‘non-tourists’) (Kavrečič and Hrobat Virloget, 2019). Commemorations are not exclusively related to dark tourism, and those sites and events are not necessarily understood by tourists (Kennell et al, 2018; Šuligoj and Kennell, 2021), but dark tourism contributes to greater site/event recognisability and thus greater turnout (Lennon and Foley, 2000; Stone, 2006).…”

“Whoever Dies Righteously, Lives Forever”: Religious Content of Commemorations in Croatian News Media

“…Niso pa izključno povezane s temačnim turizmom in tujci jih vedno ne razumejo v celoti (Kennell et al 2018;Šuligoj 2016, 265). Različna razumevanja so se pokazala na primeru Hrvaške (Šuligoj 2016, 265), tradicionalnih prireditev v Istri (Kavrečič & Hrobat Virloget 2019), dneva ANZAC 1 med Avstralci (Roppola et al 2021) in spominskega območja Auschwitz-Birkenau na Poljskem (Ward & Stessel 2012, 46). Število akterjev, ki sodelujejo v procesu aktualizacije spominov, pa tudi dodatnih načinov prenosa spominov prek (novih) medijev raste.…”