Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
exodus,” during which many Istrian Italians chose to relocate to Italy—leaving be-
hind hill towns, valley villages, and farm estates that are abandoned even to this day.
The Istrians who stayed behind were saddled with an identity crisis. Many people
here found it difficult to abandon their ties to Italy, and continued to speak the lan-
guageandembracetheculture.Today,dependingonwhomyouask,Istriaisthemost
Italian part of Croatia...or the most Croatian part of Italy. Istria pops up on Italian
weather reports. A few years ago, Italy's then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi de-
clared that he still considered Istria part of Italy—and he wanted it back. When I
wrote an article about Istria for a newspaper, some Italian readers complained that I
