Istra Nova

Slovenian Istria

The Slovenian Istria or the Slovenian Tuscany is still a relatively poorly known region, developing together with us all.

It is a very diverse territory, spreading from the Karst Edge area in the east to the coast and the sea to the west and the river Dragonja in the south. The 46 kilometers of Slovenian coast are also extremely varied, ideally bringing together tourist towns by the sea with small villages in the hinterlands. Long culinary tradition, superior wines (malvazija / Malvasia, refošk / Refosco) and friendly locals provide these old, fascinating villages in the Šavrin hills with a special charm of a rich natural and cultural heritage.

The regions of the Slovenian (as well as the rest of) Istria near the sea may be referred to as the so called “Blue Istria”, while the inland is also known as “Green Istria”. Slovenian Istria encompasses around 120 settlements. In the past, people would usually settle near freshwater springs, since that was the main condition for survival.

Many villages can also be found near what the locals call “vale”. The word refers to valleys with olive tree terraces spreading up the hills around them. These valleys are usually mostly covered in fields, since the soil is most fertile here. What is interesting is that people would not settle these places, because the soil there was so suitable for cultivation it was a waste to use it for anything else. Apart from that, the danger of floods was also greater in these vales – namely, the Istrian floor consists of flysch, which means it is more sensitive and impermeable to rain. So the steep slopes can only hold back a little water and streams flow into the valleys.

An example of a village developed near a freshwater spring is Sveti Peter, where a spring named Lokva is located in the old village centre. The Nova Vas village with the freshwater springs of Robice, Bajenca, Studenec, Gabrje and Cep is a similar case. The inhabitants of Krkavče were not so lucky; they had to get water in the surrounding villages and in the nearby basins. They would bring water from Studenec, Gabrje and Cep. Only a few villages had wells. Back then they were called “štarine”.

Roads had great influence on the migrations of people. Thus we see many villages are built by the roads. Today these are side roads, but once they were thoroughfares. We can also discern that from the location of the houses. Usually older houses are by the roads. The further away from the road, the newer the houses. That is also how the Krkavče and Padna villages were developed.