Istra Nova

Istria

Istria is home to Istranova. What we offer has been marked by the past and the present of Istria, and we hope to be able to contribute to its future.

Istria is a peninsula in the southwest of Slovenia and the northwest of Croatia in the north of the Adriatic Sea. Its inhabitants are the Istrians. Some more important Istrian cities include: Koper, Izola, Piran, Pula, Poreč, Rovinj, Pazin, Labin, Buzet, Opatija, Umag, Novigrad, Vodnjan and Muggia (Milje). Koper, Piran and Izola are in Slovenia, Muggia is in Italy, while the rest of them are in Croatia.

The western coast of Istria is more diverse and densely populated, while the eastern coast is steeper and less populated. Usually Istria is divided into three parts:

• White Istria (Čičarija, Učka and the eastern part) because of the stony karst landscape,
• Grey Istria (the central part) due to the clay floor, and
• Red Istria (the western and southern part) for its red earth (Italian: “terrarossa”).

Istria is a complex region, subject to many different rules throughout history, and to this day Istria remains ethnically very diverse.

After World War I it fell under Italy, while after World War II it was annexed to Yugoslavia. After Slovenia and Croatia attained independence in 1991, the majority of Istria went to Croatia, while the smaller northern part went to Slovenia. A small region in Italy (Muggia and San Dorlingo della Valle) also counts as Istria.

The languages include Croatian (the čakavski dialect), Slovenian and Italian, while just a few hundred people still speak the Istro Romanian language.

You can read more about Istria on Wikipedia.