Page 138 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 138
Memories and Dark Tourism in Istria
tion.⁵⁹ The Port of Koper often hosts foreign military ships, which at-
tract curious visitors and media. The media reported on the visit of Ital-
ian navy sailing ship Palinuro in July 2017, which was open to the public
(Krivec, 2017), on the British military ship Enterprise in August 2017 and
the great interest of domestic and foreign visitors (sta, 2017), and on the
us aircraft carrier uss Harry S. Truman in 2003, when panoramic boat
tours were organised (‘u s s Harry S. Truman (c v n 75) v Koprskem za-
livu’, 2003). Similarly, media reported on the American war movie Kelly’s
Heroes filmed in Vižinada (1970) and the related international memorial
event which occurred there after 48 years (Rimanić, 2018a), on a similar
international historical-music manifestation related to wwi i in Medulin
(Softić, 2018), and on the re-construction of the Allied landing opera-
tion in Istria (a rm pi t) at the end of wwi i and the related international
memorial weekend event in Šišan (Strahinja, 2019). These events do not
have a distinct memorial dimension, although the presence of Italian and
Anglo-American armed forces in the Upper Adriatic remained in the
memory of the Istrians. Additional interesting examples are the gladia-
torial combats at the Pula Arena named Spectacula Antiqua, which also
includes scenes of cruel fighting and violence. The revival of antique spec-
tacles is welcome from a tourism and heritage point of view, although
it seems like no one is questioning the appropriateness of these perfor-
mances for children (especially if expert interpretations are insufficient
or even absent).⁶⁰ Very informative, but also controversial, can be tourist
visits to the once-guarded ypa complex Šišan near Pula, including the se-
cret underground parts of the hill Monte Madonna (Strahinja, 2018). As
part of the tourist services of the extreme south of the peninsula, there
is also an option for transport by a y pa truck from Premantura to Rt
Kamenjak – see Figure 6.17.
All the above-mentioned examples are, besides the many possibilities
for underwater visits to sunken military ships, representative examples
of dark tourism as well as dissonant heritage. These examples of supply
are adapted to the modern tourist and thus comply with the principles
of thematic tourism, while at the same time coming into conflict with
⁵⁹ If we take into consideration the claims of the abovementioned McKay (2013), McKenna
and Ward (2007), and Reynolds and Lake (2010) on memorial days/heritage and mili-
tarisation of the history and culture.
⁶⁰ Overcommercialisation and spectacularisation of violence and death can often be a neg-
ative consequence of dark tourism – see Simone-Charteris et al. (2018).
138
tion.⁵⁹ The Port of Koper often hosts foreign military ships, which at-
tract curious visitors and media. The media reported on the visit of Ital-
ian navy sailing ship Palinuro in July 2017, which was open to the public
(Krivec, 2017), on the British military ship Enterprise in August 2017 and
the great interest of domestic and foreign visitors (sta, 2017), and on the
us aircraft carrier uss Harry S. Truman in 2003, when panoramic boat
tours were organised (‘u s s Harry S. Truman (c v n 75) v Koprskem za-
livu’, 2003). Similarly, media reported on the American war movie Kelly’s
Heroes filmed in Vižinada (1970) and the related international memorial
event which occurred there after 48 years (Rimanić, 2018a), on a similar
international historical-music manifestation related to wwi i in Medulin
(Softić, 2018), and on the re-construction of the Allied landing opera-
tion in Istria (a rm pi t) at the end of wwi i and the related international
memorial weekend event in Šišan (Strahinja, 2019). These events do not
have a distinct memorial dimension, although the presence of Italian and
Anglo-American armed forces in the Upper Adriatic remained in the
memory of the Istrians. Additional interesting examples are the gladia-
torial combats at the Pula Arena named Spectacula Antiqua, which also
includes scenes of cruel fighting and violence. The revival of antique spec-
tacles is welcome from a tourism and heritage point of view, although
it seems like no one is questioning the appropriateness of these perfor-
mances for children (especially if expert interpretations are insufficient
or even absent).⁶⁰ Very informative, but also controversial, can be tourist
visits to the once-guarded ypa complex Šišan near Pula, including the se-
cret underground parts of the hill Monte Madonna (Strahinja, 2018). As
part of the tourist services of the extreme south of the peninsula, there
is also an option for transport by a y pa truck from Premantura to Rt
Kamenjak – see Figure 6.17.
All the above-mentioned examples are, besides the many possibilities
for underwater visits to sunken military ships, representative examples
of dark tourism as well as dissonant heritage. These examples of supply
are adapted to the modern tourist and thus comply with the principles
of thematic tourism, while at the same time coming into conflict with
⁵⁹ If we take into consideration the claims of the abovementioned McKay (2013), McKenna
and Ward (2007), and Reynolds and Lake (2010) on memorial days/heritage and mili-
tarisation of the history and culture.
⁶⁰ Overcommercialisation and spectacularisation of violence and death can often be a neg-
ative consequence of dark tourism – see Simone-Charteris et al. (2018).
138
