Page 40 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 40
Dark Tourism Theory and Discourse
ures, the living arranged in order of their rank, from pope and em-
peror to child, clerk, and hermit, and the dead leading them to the
grave.
Such artistic presentation of death, the transience of human life (me-
mento mori) regardless of social status, as well as a critique of the con-
temporary society (secular and clerical classes) is known in several Eu-
ropean countries, but we point out only two Istrian examples: the Holy
Trinity Church (Cerkev sv. Trojice), a southern Romanesque style histori-
cal building in Hrastovlje (City Municipality of Koper), and the Church of
St. Mary on Škriljine (Crkva sv. Marije na Škriljinah) close to the village of
Beram (Town of Pazin). Their (historical) context and significance from
the art history perspective is well described in Lenković (2018) and Vign-
jević (2006, 2015). The presentation of frescos in the church in Hrastovlje
in the famous travel guide series Lonely Planet (Church of the Holy Trin-
ity, n.d.) clearly shows their significance for tourism; the other church
is obviously less recognisable and less interesting in this context. How-
ever, Lonely Planet highlights in particular the frescos’ outstanding artis-
tic value, while dark (or memorial) tourism is not identified in its descrip-
tion; the relevant connection with today’s stratified society (and social
systems) marked by many social problems, e.g. inequality, poverty, cor-
ruption, conflicts and the like, is also overlooked. Nevertheless, its dark
tourism and memorial relevance arises also from the eight-metre high
wall (with two bastion-shaped towers in the corners), which encloses the
entire building and gives the church a defensive character in addition to
the religious one – it was built as a defensive measure against the Turks,
who attacked and looted Habsburg lands in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Also interesting, but quite unknown, is the Church of Saint Blaise
(Crkva Svetog Blaža) in Vodnjan, where a rich reliquary is placed. Fifty-
seven different relics, archaeological and liturgical objects including
books, manuscripts, oil paintings on canvas, and polychromatic plastic
arts (Istria culture, n.d.b; Porečka i Pulska biskupija, 2015b) could be an
exceptional basis for the ‘transformation’ of the church into a sanctuary
and pilgrimage destination. Thus, all the above-mentioned extraordi-
nary sacral heritage and individual elements of the death system would
be more closely connected and included in the tourism system of the
trans-border region of Istria.¹⁴
¹⁴ This can also mean the ‘touristification’ of heritage.
40
ures, the living arranged in order of their rank, from pope and em-
peror to child, clerk, and hermit, and the dead leading them to the
grave.
Such artistic presentation of death, the transience of human life (me-
mento mori) regardless of social status, as well as a critique of the con-
temporary society (secular and clerical classes) is known in several Eu-
ropean countries, but we point out only two Istrian examples: the Holy
Trinity Church (Cerkev sv. Trojice), a southern Romanesque style histori-
cal building in Hrastovlje (City Municipality of Koper), and the Church of
St. Mary on Škriljine (Crkva sv. Marije na Škriljinah) close to the village of
Beram (Town of Pazin). Their (historical) context and significance from
the art history perspective is well described in Lenković (2018) and Vign-
jević (2006, 2015). The presentation of frescos in the church in Hrastovlje
in the famous travel guide series Lonely Planet (Church of the Holy Trin-
ity, n.d.) clearly shows their significance for tourism; the other church
is obviously less recognisable and less interesting in this context. How-
ever, Lonely Planet highlights in particular the frescos’ outstanding artis-
tic value, while dark (or memorial) tourism is not identified in its descrip-
tion; the relevant connection with today’s stratified society (and social
systems) marked by many social problems, e.g. inequality, poverty, cor-
ruption, conflicts and the like, is also overlooked. Nevertheless, its dark
tourism and memorial relevance arises also from the eight-metre high
wall (with two bastion-shaped towers in the corners), which encloses the
entire building and gives the church a defensive character in addition to
the religious one – it was built as a defensive measure against the Turks,
who attacked and looted Habsburg lands in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Also interesting, but quite unknown, is the Church of Saint Blaise
(Crkva Svetog Blaža) in Vodnjan, where a rich reliquary is placed. Fifty-
seven different relics, archaeological and liturgical objects including
books, manuscripts, oil paintings on canvas, and polychromatic plastic
arts (Istria culture, n.d.b; Porečka i Pulska biskupija, 2015b) could be an
exceptional basis for the ‘transformation’ of the church into a sanctuary
and pilgrimage destination. Thus, all the above-mentioned extraordi-
nary sacral heritage and individual elements of the death system would
be more closely connected and included in the tourism system of the
trans-border region of Istria.¹⁴
¹⁴ This can also mean the ‘touristification’ of heritage.
40
