Page 182 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 182
Istrian Memories in the Dark Tourism Context: The Qualitative Analysis
structed on the traumatic and complex past – and thus the present Istrian
identity (‘Istrianity’) are in crisis if the main criterion taken into account
is only the transfer of historical facts and memories related to the past vi-
olent events to the younger generations. However, dark commemorative
events are only one possible mode of transfer; in the quantitative part of
the study, electronic media reports (media-constructed reality; mediated
memory)²⁰ are presented as an alternative way. ‘People rely on the media
for information and access to local, national, and world events’ (Carter,
2013, p. 1), which is why the media are important for the transfer. How-
ever, the transfer is hindered when confidence in the media is at a low
level.²¹
The number of visitors or the massiveness of the visit is our addi-
tional indicator related to rq1. The relevance of this indicator is demon-
strated by the massive visits to many dark commemorative events in the
20th century, which enables comparisons in time. Thus, for example,
post-wwi Italian patriotism and heroism were massively celebrated and
commemorated in Istria (Giuriati, 1927, p. 793; Gemmiti, 1935; Marsetič,
2006a; 2006b, p. 217; Klabjan, 2010; Todero, 2010; Kavrečič, 2017), which,
due to the change of regime, completely changed after wwi i (D’Alessio,
2012a; Hrobat Virloget, 2015, p. 536). However, the patterns remained sim-
ilar/the same. In this context, some kind of continuity can be ascribed to
the Kućibreg dark commemorative event, which was rooted in the Sec-
ond Yugoslavia (or in the national liberation struggle), survived all polit-
ical changes in the 1990s and has kept its importance and consequently
its mass visit. The 73rd anniversary exhibits a trajectorial, history-centric,
and cyclic perspective of the event. On the other hand, dark commemora-
tive events in Pula and Svetvinčenat, two additional contemporary events
with a higher number of visitors, and their history-centric and complex
trajectory, as well as ideological orientation,²² are not comparable with
those in Kućibreg. One of the main reasons is tradition – they were im-
plemented no earlier than in the independent Croatia. However, their
historical background, including the grave and commemoration of the
martyrdom of Bl. Bulešić – problematic for the totalitarian authority –
²⁰ More about media-constructed reality can be found in Carter (2013) and Nišić and Plavšić
(2014).
²¹ More can be found in Črpić and Mataušić (1998), Čuvalo (2010) and Baloban et al. (2019).
²² Ideological orientation is not crucial, since, for example, the Istrian anti-fascist can also
be Catholic.
182
structed on the traumatic and complex past – and thus the present Istrian
identity (‘Istrianity’) are in crisis if the main criterion taken into account
is only the transfer of historical facts and memories related to the past vi-
olent events to the younger generations. However, dark commemorative
events are only one possible mode of transfer; in the quantitative part of
the study, electronic media reports (media-constructed reality; mediated
memory)²⁰ are presented as an alternative way. ‘People rely on the media
for information and access to local, national, and world events’ (Carter,
2013, p. 1), which is why the media are important for the transfer. How-
ever, the transfer is hindered when confidence in the media is at a low
level.²¹
The number of visitors or the massiveness of the visit is our addi-
tional indicator related to rq1. The relevance of this indicator is demon-
strated by the massive visits to many dark commemorative events in the
20th century, which enables comparisons in time. Thus, for example,
post-wwi Italian patriotism and heroism were massively celebrated and
commemorated in Istria (Giuriati, 1927, p. 793; Gemmiti, 1935; Marsetič,
2006a; 2006b, p. 217; Klabjan, 2010; Todero, 2010; Kavrečič, 2017), which,
due to the change of regime, completely changed after wwi i (D’Alessio,
2012a; Hrobat Virloget, 2015, p. 536). However, the patterns remained sim-
ilar/the same. In this context, some kind of continuity can be ascribed to
the Kućibreg dark commemorative event, which was rooted in the Sec-
ond Yugoslavia (or in the national liberation struggle), survived all polit-
ical changes in the 1990s and has kept its importance and consequently
its mass visit. The 73rd anniversary exhibits a trajectorial, history-centric,
and cyclic perspective of the event. On the other hand, dark commemora-
tive events in Pula and Svetvinčenat, two additional contemporary events
with a higher number of visitors, and their history-centric and complex
trajectory, as well as ideological orientation,²² are not comparable with
those in Kućibreg. One of the main reasons is tradition – they were im-
plemented no earlier than in the independent Croatia. However, their
historical background, including the grave and commemoration of the
martyrdom of Bl. Bulešić – problematic for the totalitarian authority –
²⁰ More about media-constructed reality can be found in Carter (2013) and Nišić and Plavšić
(2014).
²¹ More can be found in Črpić and Mataušić (1998), Čuvalo (2010) and Baloban et al. (2019).
²² Ideological orientation is not crucial, since, for example, the Istrian anti-fascist can also
be Catholic.
182
