CROATIA beautiful country, searching the places of my anchestors
I am of Croatian origin even if of Italian culture and language as my family moved from Capodistria, Slovenia where I was born to Trieste in 1955 when I was five, but my parents were Croatians from Buzet,Istria about 50 KM from Capodistria/Koper.
So I went to Istria to visit my relatives at the home where my father was born and live until 20 years and then I went on and arrived upto Igoumenitsa (Greece) where I took the ferryboat to Ancona where I took the motorway to Lombardy where I have been living for 31 years, close to lake of Como, but before in Milan.
In Istria I visited the beautiful coastal cities of Porec, Rovinj, Vrsar, Fazana and inland Buzet, Motovun, Castellier and then arrived at the capital Pula and moved to the eastern shore.
My newly married parents lived here. My father worked as a miner in the Arsia coal mine, so I went to visit those places even though the mine has been closed since the 70s. There are still the houses built at the time of fascism, all the same and still nice now, imagine what they were then. My mother told me that they had competitions to see who had the most beautiful garden. Then there is nearby Albona high up on the hill like Buzet and Motovun. Below is Porto Rabac where I ended up during a downpour and had difficulty getting into the car parked on a small road downhill from where rivers of water flowed down.
It goes without saying that the western coast is rich in Italianity, palaces, churches, monuments, memories of Venice and Rome while the eastern coast is more reminiscent of the Austro-Hungarian empire given that Opatija and Lovran became places of tourism and health resorts around 1844 when the first hotel, now Villa Angiolina and museum of Croatian tourism, was created. All the rich and noble Austrians competed to see who had the most prestigious villa and then they were transformed into hotels at the time of the Italian occupation of only 25 years between 1918 and 1943.
Italian beauty and culture reappear overwhelmingly in Zadar, Sibenico, Trogir and Split, mixed with the Croatian one which has many similarities with ours due to the architecture of the buildings and the use of white stone and marble which give a very refined particular atmosphere.
I was enchanted by these cities but also by the blue sea, the pine forests around Paklevica park and the beauty of the sea around Primosten.
Now I am on the island of Hvar, Lesina in Italian which I have pursued for many years.
Thirty years ago I had already visited the Dalmatian coast up to Albania for two consecutive years and also the islands of Cres-Cherso, Mali Losinj-Lussinpiccolo, Krk-Veliah, Rab-Arbe and Pag-Pago.
This time I skipped them and therefore I arrived in Hvar and then I will go to Meleda-Mljet which is a national park with a lake and an island surrounded by the sea and pine forests.
I had already seen the island of Murter and the famous Kornati islands, a true paradise for an archipelago of 365 barren islands but with a fabulous sea for divers and sailors.
Meleda-Hvar is a dream and I have no words to describe the beauty of the capital town rich in history and culture with many churches, monasteries, small squares, alleys but also a fairytale seafront with maritime pines and agaves because here there is always sunny and the minimum temperature even in winter is 15 degrees. If it rains for several days, they refund the holiday. Today October 8th I calmly took a bath and was in the sun all afternoon. It's better than in summer because you don't suffer from the heat and you don't need umbrellas. Tonight I had the best dinner of the holiday, in a small restaurant by the sea based on Oslic fish, salads, excellent local white wine and the Rosada for dessert. I spent 23 euros but it was worth it. We are not at Bulgarian prices and even for hotels you spend around 30 euros. I'm in a hostel full of young Canadians and Australians with whom I pleasantly spent the evening around a table with drinks offered by Vanessa, the friendly owner. Someone said see Naples and then die, I would say that this saying also applies to Croatia and it is not for nothing that Lonely Planet considers it the best European country for the sea, I would also add for its beautiful white cities of art and culture and I forgot to mention two wonders of Croatia, the waterfall of Krka and the paradise of Plitvice (plenty of paths through waterfalls and green scenery)
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My newly married parents lived here. My father worked as a miner in the Arsia coal mine, so I went to visit those places even though the mine has been closed since the 70s. There are still the houses built at the time of fascism, all the same and still nice now, imagine what they were then. My mother told me that they had competitions to see who had the most beautiful garden. Then there is nearby Albona high up on the hill like Buzet and Motovun. Below is Porto Rabac where I ended up during a downpour and had difficulty getting into the car parked on a small road downhill from where rivers of water flowed down.
It goes without saying that the western coast is rich in Italianity, palaces, churches, monuments, memories of Venice and Rome while the eastern coast is more reminiscent of the Austro-Hungarian empire given that Opatija and Lovran became places of tourism and health resorts around 1844 when the first hotel, now Villa Angiolina and museum of Croatian tourism, was created. All the rich and noble Austrians competed to see who had the most prestigious villa and then they were transformed into hotels at the time of the Italian occupation of only 25 years between 1918 and 1943.
Italian beauty and culture reappear overwhelmingly in Zadar, Sibenico, Trogir and Split, mixed with the Croatian one which has many similarities with ours due to the architecture of the buildings and the use of white stone and marble which give a very refined particular atmosphere.
I was enchanted by these cities but also by the blue sea, the pine forests around Paklevica park and the beauty of the sea around Primosten.
Now I am on the island of Hvar, Lesina in Italian which I have pursued for many years.
Thirty years ago I had already visited the Dalmatian coast up to Albania for two consecutive years and also the islands of Cres-Cherso, Mali Losinj-Lussinpiccolo, Krk-Veliah, Rab-Arbe and Pag-Pago.
This time I skipped them and therefore I arrived in Hvar and then I will go to Meleda-Mljet which is a national park with a lake and an island surrounded by the sea and pine forests.
I had already seen the island of Murter and the famous Kornati islands, a true paradise for an archipelago of 365 barren islands but with a fabulous sea for divers and sailors.
Meleda-Hvar is a dream and I have no words to describe the beauty of the capital town rich in history and culture with many churches, monasteries, small squares, alleys but also a fairytale seafront with maritime pines and agaves because here there is always sunny and the minimum temperature even in winter is 15 degrees. If it rains for several days, they refund the holiday. Today October 8th I calmly took a bath and was in the sun all afternoon. It's better than in summer because you don't suffer from the heat and you don't need umbrellas. Tonight I had the best dinner of the holiday, in a small restaurant by the sea based on Oslic fish, salads, excellent local white wine and the Rosada for dessert. I spent 23 euros but it was worth it. We are not at Bulgarian prices and even for hotels you spend around 30 euros. I'm in a hostel full of young Canadians and Australians with whom I pleasantly spent the evening around a table with drinks offered by Vanessa, the friendly owner. Someone said see Naples and then die, I would say that this saying also applies to Croatia and it is not for nothing that Lonely Planet considers it the best European country for the sea, I would also add for its beautiful white cities of art and culture and I forgot to mention two wonders of Croatia, the waterfall of Krka and the paradise of Plitvice (plenty of paths through waterfalls and green scenery)
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