Page 12 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 12
Introduction
a few selected representative examples where death and suffering were
exposed and which echoed in the international environment (society).
Such creations are only one way in which traumatic historical moments
and memories are (in)correctly transmitted to people today. These are
‘sensuous memories produced by an experience of mass-mediated rep-
resentations, and like an artificial limb, these memories often mark a
trauma.’ Thus, the above-mentioned memory-related artists’ creations
can be linked to the so-called ‘prosthetic memories.’ They are not natural
and the property of a single social group, they are historically specific
as well as quite distinct from the various forms of collective memory,
but they enter into unexpected political alliances (Landsberg, 2003, pp.
148–149). Because of all these specifics, this type of memory will not be
specifically considered in this monograph. Conversely, memorial events
and the related media reports, which also attract a certain number of vis-
itors and readers, form the main research direction of this monograph.
In order to clarify the complexity of the Istrian (collective) memory and
the related dark tourism, which sometimes connects, sometimes com-
pletely separates people, an in-depth (theoretical) explanation, including
historical contextualisation and then a qualitative and a quantitative in-
vestigation, is needed.
1.1 Background and Rationale for the Study
The Istrian Peninsula as a trans-border region, formally divided among
Croatia, Slovenia and Italy, is populated by indigenous ethnic groups and
immigrants who are able to quickly integrate into ‘Istria’s society.’¹ In 1994,
the region, which is limited by natural and cultural barriers not identical
with national borders, was declared as a Euroregion by the major regional
political party in the Istrian county as well in Croatia (Istarski demokratski
sabor – Dieta democratica Istriana) (Banovac, 2004; Banovac et al., 2004;
Orlić, 2009).² This is in line with the vision of Europe as a ‘Europe of re-
gions;’ this vision, which is closer to citizens, decreases ethnic egoisms,
nationalisms and interethnic tensions. However, representatives of the
nation-states are against this vision and understand regionalism just as
separatism (Janicki, 2009, pp. 37–38). How far the thoughts of ‘Istrian re-
¹ Immigrants represent one of the constants of the Istrian ethnogenesis (Medica, 2011, p.
250).
² The idea also aroused interest in Italy in the 1990s, especially among (extreme) right-
wingers, who had their own political calculation (Pirjevec et al., 2012, p. 217).
12
a few selected representative examples where death and suffering were
exposed and which echoed in the international environment (society).
Such creations are only one way in which traumatic historical moments
and memories are (in)correctly transmitted to people today. These are
‘sensuous memories produced by an experience of mass-mediated rep-
resentations, and like an artificial limb, these memories often mark a
trauma.’ Thus, the above-mentioned memory-related artists’ creations
can be linked to the so-called ‘prosthetic memories.’ They are not natural
and the property of a single social group, they are historically specific
as well as quite distinct from the various forms of collective memory,
but they enter into unexpected political alliances (Landsberg, 2003, pp.
148–149). Because of all these specifics, this type of memory will not be
specifically considered in this monograph. Conversely, memorial events
and the related media reports, which also attract a certain number of vis-
itors and readers, form the main research direction of this monograph.
In order to clarify the complexity of the Istrian (collective) memory and
the related dark tourism, which sometimes connects, sometimes com-
pletely separates people, an in-depth (theoretical) explanation, including
historical contextualisation and then a qualitative and a quantitative in-
vestigation, is needed.
1.1 Background and Rationale for the Study
The Istrian Peninsula as a trans-border region, formally divided among
Croatia, Slovenia and Italy, is populated by indigenous ethnic groups and
immigrants who are able to quickly integrate into ‘Istria’s society.’¹ In 1994,
the region, which is limited by natural and cultural barriers not identical
with national borders, was declared as a Euroregion by the major regional
political party in the Istrian county as well in Croatia (Istarski demokratski
sabor – Dieta democratica Istriana) (Banovac, 2004; Banovac et al., 2004;
Orlić, 2009).² This is in line with the vision of Europe as a ‘Europe of re-
gions;’ this vision, which is closer to citizens, decreases ethnic egoisms,
nationalisms and interethnic tensions. However, representatives of the
nation-states are against this vision and understand regionalism just as
separatism (Janicki, 2009, pp. 37–38). How far the thoughts of ‘Istrian re-
¹ Immigrants represent one of the constants of the Istrian ethnogenesis (Medica, 2011, p.
250).
² The idea also aroused interest in Italy in the 1990s, especially among (extreme) right-
wingers, who had their own political calculation (Pirjevec et al., 2012, p. 217).
12
