Page 17 - Dark Shades of Istria
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1.1 Background and Rationale for the Study
tians), and the later immigrant Slavs. Thus, this territory evolved over
time to become the hotspot of this piece of Europe. This creates differ-
ent public memorial practices and a different attitude to the past. Con-
sequently, historical events of the distant as well as the recent past (e.g.
conflicts of the 20th century) offer typical examples, which are nowadays
also linked to the segment of dark tourism. Light (2017, pp. 278–279), ac-
cording to other authors, summarises that ‘dark tourism is defined as in-
volving incidences of death, disaster and atrocity that have taken place
within living memory. They identified a major shift in the way that death
and the dead are treated by the tourism industry, with death being in-
creasingly commodified and commercialised.’ However, the commodifi-
cation and commercialisation of memories of painful historical events is
not a simple process and can be marked by remembrance, amnesia and
forgiveness (Miklavcic, 2008, p. 443) as well as silence (Hrobat Virloget,
2017),¹⁰ if we do not take into account even more deviant processes, which
may stifle societies/communities. Istria, where authorities and ideologies
changed many times in the 20th century, faces all of them.
An important social term or phenomenon, usually forgotten in so-
ciological research, is the so-called damnatio memoriae. At the time of
the Romans – the connection to them is reasonable for Istria – the Latin
phrase damnatio memoriae meant a severe penalty of erasure from mem-
ory (Varner, 2004, p. 2). Schwedler (2010) and Omissi (2016), on the other
hand, understand it as a modern construct with no direct Roman root,
which causes many contemporary misinterpretations.¹¹ Regardless of the
considerable terminological confusion, a modern Latin phrase, which lit-
erally means damnation or condemnation of memory (Varner, 2004, p.
2) or ‘processes directed at the suppression or manipulation of the mem-
ory of an enemy of the state’ (Omissi, 2016, p. 170) is taken into account
in this study. Omissi’s (2016, p. 170) claim that ‘damnatio memoriae is not
actually a single process but an umbrella term that describes a number of
overlapping but discrete activities,’ is relevant for humanistic and social
sciences (Schwedler, 2010), and thus also for researching history-centric
memorial practices (dissonant heritage) and dark tourism as parts of so-
cial reality in multi-ethnic Istria.
Proving how pertinent and relevant all these claims, assertions and as-
¹⁰ They, in fact, constantly coexist and society is permanently filled with them (Hrobat Vir-
loget, 2017; McAuley, 2013; Vinitzky-Seroussi & Teeger, 2010).
¹¹ More can be found in Schwedler (2010) and Omissi (2016).
17
tians), and the later immigrant Slavs. Thus, this territory evolved over
time to become the hotspot of this piece of Europe. This creates differ-
ent public memorial practices and a different attitude to the past. Con-
sequently, historical events of the distant as well as the recent past (e.g.
conflicts of the 20th century) offer typical examples, which are nowadays
also linked to the segment of dark tourism. Light (2017, pp. 278–279), ac-
cording to other authors, summarises that ‘dark tourism is defined as in-
volving incidences of death, disaster and atrocity that have taken place
within living memory. They identified a major shift in the way that death
and the dead are treated by the tourism industry, with death being in-
creasingly commodified and commercialised.’ However, the commodifi-
cation and commercialisation of memories of painful historical events is
not a simple process and can be marked by remembrance, amnesia and
forgiveness (Miklavcic, 2008, p. 443) as well as silence (Hrobat Virloget,
2017),¹⁰ if we do not take into account even more deviant processes, which
may stifle societies/communities. Istria, where authorities and ideologies
changed many times in the 20th century, faces all of them.
An important social term or phenomenon, usually forgotten in so-
ciological research, is the so-called damnatio memoriae. At the time of
the Romans – the connection to them is reasonable for Istria – the Latin
phrase damnatio memoriae meant a severe penalty of erasure from mem-
ory (Varner, 2004, p. 2). Schwedler (2010) and Omissi (2016), on the other
hand, understand it as a modern construct with no direct Roman root,
which causes many contemporary misinterpretations.¹¹ Regardless of the
considerable terminological confusion, a modern Latin phrase, which lit-
erally means damnation or condemnation of memory (Varner, 2004, p.
2) or ‘processes directed at the suppression or manipulation of the mem-
ory of an enemy of the state’ (Omissi, 2016, p. 170) is taken into account
in this study. Omissi’s (2016, p. 170) claim that ‘damnatio memoriae is not
actually a single process but an umbrella term that describes a number of
overlapping but discrete activities,’ is relevant for humanistic and social
sciences (Schwedler, 2010), and thus also for researching history-centric
memorial practices (dissonant heritage) and dark tourism as parts of so-
cial reality in multi-ethnic Istria.
Proving how pertinent and relevant all these claims, assertions and as-
¹⁰ They, in fact, constantly coexist and society is permanently filled with them (Hrobat Vir-
loget, 2017; McAuley, 2013; Vinitzky-Seroussi & Teeger, 2010).
¹¹ More can be found in Schwedler (2010) and Omissi (2016).
17
