Page 143 - Dark Shades of Istria
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6.5 Discussion and Chapter Conclusion
this chapter, where special emphasis was put on Stone’s ‘sites of death
and suffering’ (see Figure 2.2). In addition, Istrian memorial and dark
tourism practices include components of the ‘death system’ (see Table
2.1). As can be concluded based on some media reports, official publica-
tions of municipalities or religious organisations, the events are intended
for the general public, including war veterans and their relatives. Ob-
jects, places and times are history-centric and thus based on real times
and places of conflicts, where commemorations are mostly organised to-
day. In addition, symbols of relevant ideologies were/are present at events
as well, e.g. fasces in the post-wwi period, the (red) star and the image
of Josip Broz Tito in the post-wwi i period or the contemporary Slove-
nian/Croatian coat of arms, or the Catholic cross at religious events. The
terminology/language is, or was, also adapted to these circumstances,
e.g. Mussolini’s words in Pula in 1920 – see Pirjevec (2015, p. 381) – are
completely unacceptable from today’s perspective (extreme hate speech).
Dark commemorative events are evidently subject to political influences
and constant change, and thus always interesting for academic investiga-
tion.
According to all conclusions listed in this sub-chapter, it is necessary
to obtain answers to the following research questions related to the con-
temporary memorial practices in Istria:
rq1 Who are the actual visitors of dark commemorative events? In the
context of intergenerational memory transfer, the main indicators
here are the age (generation) and number of visitors (massiveness).
rq2 To what extent is the (warfare) tourist essence present at dark com-
memorative events? Relevant indicators of the (warfare) tourist
aspect for this study are: internationality, local visitors, memory
of the victims as the key reason for the visit, tourism infrastruc-
ture.
rq3 To what extent are ideological/political elements present at dark
commemorative events? Can the characteristic Istrian convivenza
also be seen at dark commemorative events? Relevant indicators
of ideological/political elements for this study are: highlighting
ideological topics, regionalism, convivenza and symbols.
In the available references, these aspects were not yet investigated with
a serious scholarly approach.
143
this chapter, where special emphasis was put on Stone’s ‘sites of death
and suffering’ (see Figure 2.2). In addition, Istrian memorial and dark
tourism practices include components of the ‘death system’ (see Table
2.1). As can be concluded based on some media reports, official publica-
tions of municipalities or religious organisations, the events are intended
for the general public, including war veterans and their relatives. Ob-
jects, places and times are history-centric and thus based on real times
and places of conflicts, where commemorations are mostly organised to-
day. In addition, symbols of relevant ideologies were/are present at events
as well, e.g. fasces in the post-wwi period, the (red) star and the image
of Josip Broz Tito in the post-wwi i period or the contemporary Slove-
nian/Croatian coat of arms, or the Catholic cross at religious events. The
terminology/language is, or was, also adapted to these circumstances,
e.g. Mussolini’s words in Pula in 1920 – see Pirjevec (2015, p. 381) – are
completely unacceptable from today’s perspective (extreme hate speech).
Dark commemorative events are evidently subject to political influences
and constant change, and thus always interesting for academic investiga-
tion.
According to all conclusions listed in this sub-chapter, it is necessary
to obtain answers to the following research questions related to the con-
temporary memorial practices in Istria:
rq1 Who are the actual visitors of dark commemorative events? In the
context of intergenerational memory transfer, the main indicators
here are the age (generation) and number of visitors (massiveness).
rq2 To what extent is the (warfare) tourist essence present at dark com-
memorative events? Relevant indicators of the (warfare) tourist
aspect for this study are: internationality, local visitors, memory
of the victims as the key reason for the visit, tourism infrastruc-
ture.
rq3 To what extent are ideological/political elements present at dark
commemorative events? Can the characteristic Istrian convivenza
also be seen at dark commemorative events? Relevant indicators
of ideological/political elements for this study are: highlighting
ideological topics, regionalism, convivenza and symbols.
In the available references, these aspects were not yet investigated with
a serious scholarly approach.
143
