Page 270 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja. 2021. V tišini spomina: "eksodus" in Istra. Koper, Trst: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Založništvo tržaškega tiska
P. 270
mary
on the other hand, the homeliness and familiarity of those who are accus-
tomed to living next to it.
The immigrants from inland Slovenia and former Yugoslavia speak
about a certain feeling of being torn between their original and their new
home. The feeling of home in the new environment is associated more
with one’s family than with the broader environment, or perhaps with
new interpersonal relationships within a person’s ethnic belonging. Con-
versely, immigrants develop a dual feeling of home, one in the new and
the other in the original environment (Čapo 2019). They develop an emo-
tional tie with their new home in the new environment, as evident from
the statement that they are ‘foreigners in their own domain.’ This feeling
is probably emphasised all the more because of the persistent setting of
symbolic boundaries by native residents towards the ‘others,’ who actually
do not see themselves as ‘others’ so much.
The chapter about heritage highlights the lack of care for the urban
(Venetian) architecture heritage. Its degradation can on one hand be
linked with the non-heritage relations as a reflection of most people’s lack
of identification in Istrian town centres, i.e. working-class immigrants
from former Yugoslav republics other than Slovenia and, on the other
hand, with their social marginalisation as reflected in the poor economic
conditions. In contrast, the Italians’ identity and memories are firmly an-
chored in the material arrangement of the urban space, providing them
with emotional support and a feeling of continuity in the new social envi-
ronment. Italians identify themselves with the Venetian heritage in Istrian
towns and any denial of these ties hurts their feelings, just like new archi-
tectural interventions and the neglect of historical town centres do. The
demolition and devaluation of architecture can be interpreted as symbolic
violence, an expression of power and a rejection of the identification signs
of those who identify with them. Still, heritage can be used as a ‘scream’
from the silenced Italian minority, an example of this being the conserva-
tion of old urban cemeteries that reflect their ‘autochthony’ and ‘primacy
of residence.’ The Italians’ feeling of foreignness is also seen in the nostal-
gic memories of an idyllic environment in a past destroyed by a flood of
immigrants from near and far.
Knowing that heritage becomes heritage only through the process of
heritageisation, when the material remains of the past are ascribed with
symbolic values of the present (Harvey 2001), the question arises of what
does heritage mean today to this pot pourri of Istrian society. Given there
is no such thing as a homogeneous or harmonious space of social inter-
268
on the other hand, the homeliness and familiarity of those who are accus-
tomed to living next to it.
The immigrants from inland Slovenia and former Yugoslavia speak
about a certain feeling of being torn between their original and their new
home. The feeling of home in the new environment is associated more
with one’s family than with the broader environment, or perhaps with
new interpersonal relationships within a person’s ethnic belonging. Con-
versely, immigrants develop a dual feeling of home, one in the new and
the other in the original environment (Čapo 2019). They develop an emo-
tional tie with their new home in the new environment, as evident from
the statement that they are ‘foreigners in their own domain.’ This feeling
is probably emphasised all the more because of the persistent setting of
symbolic boundaries by native residents towards the ‘others,’ who actually
do not see themselves as ‘others’ so much.
The chapter about heritage highlights the lack of care for the urban
(Venetian) architecture heritage. Its degradation can on one hand be
linked with the non-heritage relations as a reflection of most people’s lack
of identification in Istrian town centres, i.e. working-class immigrants
from former Yugoslav republics other than Slovenia and, on the other
hand, with their social marginalisation as reflected in the poor economic
conditions. In contrast, the Italians’ identity and memories are firmly an-
chored in the material arrangement of the urban space, providing them
with emotional support and a feeling of continuity in the new social envi-
ronment. Italians identify themselves with the Venetian heritage in Istrian
towns and any denial of these ties hurts their feelings, just like new archi-
tectural interventions and the neglect of historical town centres do. The
demolition and devaluation of architecture can be interpreted as symbolic
violence, an expression of power and a rejection of the identification signs
of those who identify with them. Still, heritage can be used as a ‘scream’
from the silenced Italian minority, an example of this being the conserva-
tion of old urban cemeteries that reflect their ‘autochthony’ and ‘primacy
of residence.’ The Italians’ feeling of foreignness is also seen in the nostal-
gic memories of an idyllic environment in a past destroyed by a flood of
immigrants from near and far.
Knowing that heritage becomes heritage only through the process of
heritageisation, when the material remains of the past are ascribed with
symbolic values of the present (Harvey 2001), the question arises of what
does heritage mean today to this pot pourri of Istrian society. Given there
is no such thing as a homogeneous or harmonious space of social inter-
268
