Page 170 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 170
Istrian Memories in the Dark Tourism Context: The Qualitative Analysis
atic area: Croatia – Slovenia – Italy (significance for tourism). It was ded-
icated namely to the native Italian Istrian blessed priest who was myste-
riously liquidated in the aftermath of wwi i, when the Communist Party
was taking power. This event should therefore especially attract the mem-
bers of the Italian minority in Istria and Istrian migrants of Italian ori-
gins from the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Trieste is
only approximately 40 km away – the members of the Italian commu-
nity in Slovenia and Croatia are even closer (cross-border travel). Both,
esuli and rimasti, could thus be the right target groups, which gave the
event a tourism connotation as well.
The presence of the proactive autochthon Italian community evidently
co-creates the social and economic life of the town and the entire Munic-
ipality. This fact also significantly impacted the selection of this event for
further analysis, which means that this public dark commemorative event
is primarily addressed in terms of its ethnic background (ethnic origin of
participants).
background of the event: briefly on the life
and work of bl. bonifacio
Francesco Bonifacio was born to poor Italian parents on 7 September 1912
in Piran. After graduating from high school in Koper, he studied at the
central theological seminary in Gorizia. In the end of December 1936 he
was ordained to the priesthood in the Trieste Cathedral (Basilica catte-
drale di San Giusto Martire). As a priest, he first worked for a short time
in Piran, then in Novigrad, and after that, he took under his wing the be-
lievers in the area between Buje and Grožnjan. Besides his pastoral com-
mitment, he was especially known for his work and socialising with the
young and ordinary people, e.g. local fishermen, farmers, the elderly, the
sick and the poor. During wwii, and especially during the German occu-
pation between 1943 and 1945, he often offered shelter to the local people
from confronting armies and thus also risked his own life. Immediately
after the war, the new totalitarian power assumed authority. They did not
like his pastoral as well as social engagement in the local environment.
The Department for People’s Protection (oz na) arrested him on the way
from Gožnjan to Krasica, after which he was liquidated in mysterious cir-
cumstances.¹⁶ When he was killed, most probably on 11 September 1946,
¹⁶ In 1946 many priests of different nationality were arrested in Istria including Francesco
Bonifacio, who was then also liquidated (Oblak Moscarda, 2016, p. 162). More about the
170
atic area: Croatia – Slovenia – Italy (significance for tourism). It was ded-
icated namely to the native Italian Istrian blessed priest who was myste-
riously liquidated in the aftermath of wwi i, when the Communist Party
was taking power. This event should therefore especially attract the mem-
bers of the Italian minority in Istria and Istrian migrants of Italian ori-
gins from the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Trieste is
only approximately 40 km away – the members of the Italian commu-
nity in Slovenia and Croatia are even closer (cross-border travel). Both,
esuli and rimasti, could thus be the right target groups, which gave the
event a tourism connotation as well.
The presence of the proactive autochthon Italian community evidently
co-creates the social and economic life of the town and the entire Munic-
ipality. This fact also significantly impacted the selection of this event for
further analysis, which means that this public dark commemorative event
is primarily addressed in terms of its ethnic background (ethnic origin of
participants).
background of the event: briefly on the life
and work of bl. bonifacio
Francesco Bonifacio was born to poor Italian parents on 7 September 1912
in Piran. After graduating from high school in Koper, he studied at the
central theological seminary in Gorizia. In the end of December 1936 he
was ordained to the priesthood in the Trieste Cathedral (Basilica catte-
drale di San Giusto Martire). As a priest, he first worked for a short time
in Piran, then in Novigrad, and after that, he took under his wing the be-
lievers in the area between Buje and Grožnjan. Besides his pastoral com-
mitment, he was especially known for his work and socialising with the
young and ordinary people, e.g. local fishermen, farmers, the elderly, the
sick and the poor. During wwii, and especially during the German occu-
pation between 1943 and 1945, he often offered shelter to the local people
from confronting armies and thus also risked his own life. Immediately
after the war, the new totalitarian power assumed authority. They did not
like his pastoral as well as social engagement in the local environment.
The Department for People’s Protection (oz na) arrested him on the way
from Gožnjan to Krasica, after which he was liquidated in mysterious cir-
cumstances.¹⁶ When he was killed, most probably on 11 September 1946,
¹⁶ In 1946 many priests of different nationality were arrested in Istria including Francesco
Bonifacio, who was then also liquidated (Oblak Moscarda, 2016, p. 162). More about the
170
