By Russell Kelley
As anyone who has visited its great capitals since the end of the Covid pandemic can attest, Europe is now suffering from a serious case of overtourism. In an effort to get off the well-beaten tourist path, last September we spent 10 days driving around Slovenia (“Land of the Slavs”) and parts of Istria, the triangular peninsula that includes the northeastern tip of Italy (around Trieste) and 29 miles of coastline in Slovenia, but is mainly in Croatia, where it is promoted as “the New Tuscany”. We then spent four days in the Old Tuscany to see if the Istrians were comparing truffles with truffles.
Slovenia is mostly mountainous and forested, covering 7,827 square miles, which is half the size of Switzerland and roughly the size of Massachusetts in the USA and Wales in the UK. It has a population of approximately 2.1 million, which is slightly less than the population of Paris intra muros.
The Istrian Peninsula is at the western end of Croatia (“Hrvatska” in Croatian). It has an area of 1,220 square miles (5% of the landmass of Croatia), and a population of around 210,000 (around 5% of the population of Croatia). Most people know Croatia for its long Dalmatian coast (named after another Illyrian tribe) facing the Adriatic Sea, with its pristine waters, hundreds of islands and historic port cities such as Split and Dubrovnik, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. While the Dalmatian coast covers roughly the eastern three quarters of Croatia’s long coastline, there is also the Istrian coast at the westernmost end of Croatia, which extends slightly further west into Slovenia and Italy. (The Kvarner coast, on the Kvarner Gulf, links Istria with Dalmatia.)
It was mainly the mountains and lakes in western Slovenia and the western coast and hinterlands of the Istrian Peninsula along the Gulf of Venice that we visited.
HISTORY
The history of this region is complicated, especially since the country of Slovenia and the region of Istria have for most of their long history been ruled by bigger and more powerful countries. Even the borders of Slovenia and Istria were only fixed in the 1950s. To keep it simple, I will discuss Slovenia minus the sliver of Istria on the coast that it now possesses, and Istria as a whole, including the Slovenian coast, which is only a small part of Istria.
Around 1200 BC, this area was known as Illyria and the tribes that inhabited it were known as Illyrians. Istria is named after one of those Illyrian tribes, the Histri. Celts from Gaul followed in the 4th century BC.
The Romans defeated the Illyrians and Celts in 168 BC and Illyria (which the Romans later called Illyrium) became part of the Roman Empire. After conquering adjacent regions, the Romans changed the name of the enlarged province to Dalmatia with its long coast on the Adriatic Sea, including the seaports now known as Split and Dubrovnik.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Istria was conquered by the Goths and Byzantines.
In the 6th century, Slavic tribes immigrated possibly from around today’s Ukraine to what is now Slovenia. In the 7th century, another Slavic tribe, the Croats, immigrated possibly from around Iran to the area around the Dalmatian coast.
At the end of the 8th century, the Franks conquered Slovenia and Istria and incorporated them into the Holy Roman Empire founded by Charlemagne in 800. At the same time Charlemagne introduced Christianity to the Slavic population.
When the Holy Roman Empire was broken up the following century, the Franks were replaced by a succession of German rulers.
Starting in 1267, Venice gradually took control of the Istrian coast from the German rulers, and retained control until 1797.
In the 14th century, the rulers of the future Slovenia and the eastern part of Istria agreed to join the Hapsburg Empire. With the fall of Venice to Napoleon’s army in 1797, all of Istria fell under Austrian rule, followed by French rule between 1809 and 1813, and then again by the Austrian Empire.
After Austria’s defeat in World War I in 1918, Slovenia briefly became part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (with much smaller Slovenia as the junior member), which became Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”) in 1928. The Treaty of Rapallo of 1920 formally ceded Istria to Italy as a reward for having supported the Allies in World War I. At that time the population consisted of Italians and Austrians in the coastal towns and Slavic farmers in the rural interior. Istria remained under Italian rule until after Italy’s defeat in World War II, when it became part of Yugoslavia under Marshal Josip Broz Tito. Tito transferred the northern part of the peninsula to Slovenia, one of the six republics that made up Yugoslavia. In 1954, the London Memorandum signed by the ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Yugoslavia awarded Trieste and the northwestern tip of the Istrian peninsula to Italy.
The Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia was formed in 1947, consisting of Serbia (where Belgrade served as the Yugoslavian capital), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Yugoslavia was led by Tito from its inception until his death in 1980. Tito was only person who could hold the country together. After his death, nationalism surged in reaction to centralized control exercised by Belgrade.
As a result national and religious differences, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, in 1991 both Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia, whose Serbian leaders hoped to transform into the new country of Greater Serbia. Because Slovenia was relatively small and remote, bordering Italy and Austria, both EU member countries, Belgrade let Slovenia go after a 10-day war that left 66 dead. Croatia was another matter. That tragic war dragged on until 1995, with Bosnia caught in the middle.
Slovenia joined NATO and the European Union in 2004, and the Eurozone in 2007.
Croatia joined NATO in 2009, the EU in 2013, and the Eurozone in 2023.
So in short, current-day Slovenia was under German or Austrian rule for more than 600 years and Istria was under Venetian or Italian rule for nearly as long, which accounts for much of their architecture and cultural heritage today.
SLOVENIA TODAY
Celebrities
These days Slovenia is perhaps best known internationally for its athletes, including three-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar (pronounced “PoGHAcha”) and Paris Olympics gold medalist Primož Roglič (Men’s cycling time trial), and several NBA players (they grow them tall in the Balkans), including Goran Dragić – “the Dragon” – who just retired after 15 years in the NBA.
And then of course there is first lady Melanija Knavs.
Two less well known (outside Slovenia) local heroes we discovered when visiting Slovenia’s capital were José Plečnik and Zoran Janković.
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (“Beloved”) is the capital of Slovenia. It is pronounced “Loo-blah-nah”, which helpfully is the actual name of a local craft brewery. Its population is 300,000. The city symbol is the dragon – the one slayed by St. George.
Following World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ljubljana went from being a peripheral town of the former Empire to the capital city of a new nation. To rise to the occasion, between the two World Wars Slovenian architect José Plečnik (1872-1957) transformed the historic center with his distinctive bridges decorated with columns and his market arcades along the narrow Lubljanica river that cuts through the city center. While his contemporaries favored the Art Déco style of the period, Plečnik preferred the classical idiom. In 2021, many of his more than 40 works in the city center were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Perhaps Plečnik’s most famous work is the Triple Bridge adjacent to Prešernov Trg (Prešeren Square), the main square in the old city, named after Slovenia’s greatest poet, France Prešeren (1800-49). The central of the three bridges was constructed in 1842, replacing an old, strategically important medieval wooden bridge connecting northwestern Europe with southeastern Europe and the Balkans. Between 1929 and 1932, Plečnik added the side bridges for pedestrians.
Plečnik’s impact on the city’s urban design has caused the historic center to be known as “Plečnik’s Ljubljana”. His home, just outside the pedestrianized area, has been turned into a museum.
The Old Town is overlooked by the medieval Ljubljanski Grad (Ljubljana Castle), which is accessible by funicular and offers outstanding views of the city.
Starting in 2007, the historic center has been pedestrianized by Mayor Zoran Janković, which makes it a pleasure to discover on foot or on a bicycle since there are literally no motorized vehicles allowed after 10 am. The radius of the pedestrianized zone is currently around half a mile, but is planned to expand. Despite initial resistance, as a clear indication of how successful the pedestrianization initiative has been, Janković is still mayor of Ljubljana.
Most of the action in the old city is alongside the river, which is lined with walkways and restaurants. Since Slovenia is not renowned for its cuisine, most eateries serve pizzas or burgers (or both) to bring in the tourists. For more local fare, try “gostilna” (in Slovenian, “konoba” in Croatian), which are informal taverns that serve traditional dishes. More specifically, popular restaurants in the historic center include the restaurant Breg and Pop’s Pizza on the riverfront, Juliya restaurant featuring Slovenian cuisine at Stari Trg 9, and Zvezda Café with delicious cakes on Kongresnj Trg.
We took a terrific two-hour bicycle tour of the historic center and surrounding area that we signed up for at the Tourist Office next to the Triple Bridge, and a three-hour walking tour of the old city with a well-informed guide named Katja Ule (tel: +386 41 949 662). The tours were not redundant and both were very worthwhile.
Lake Country
After two days in the (relatively) big city, we rented a car and drove one hour west to the famous Lake Bled, at the foot of the Julian Alps that straddle the Slovenian-Italian border. The highest peak is Mount Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia, which is in Triglav National Park. Sportsmen go to the mountains to hike in the summer and ski in the winter. Less actively inclined tourists go to Lake Bled (population 5,100) in the summer to relax, swim in the clear waters, and take in the sights, which include a 17th century church on tiny Bled Island and Bled Castle perched on top of a cliff 100 yards above the lake. Lake Bled is also swarming with tourists in July and August, which is why we drove another 16 miles southwest to the less famous – and much less developed – Lake Bohinj (pronounced “Boh-heene”). We stayed at the Hotel Bohinj, which had the look and feel of a modern ski lodge, which it probably is during the winter.
Lake Bohinj is bigger than Lake Bled with a circumference of 7.5 miles versus 3 miles, and the water is even cleaner since it is replenished three times each year, whereas Bled’s water is replenished once every three years. While the water temperature is cooler than Lake Bled since the lake is deeper (150 feet versus 100 feet), the water temperature is a very pleasant 72 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August. Only boats with electric motors are allowed.
Most importantly, there are far fewer tourists and everything that goes along with them at Lake Bohinj. There is a footpath around Lake Bohinj — 2.5 miles along a road, and 5 miles next to woods — and people can swim wherever they wish along the shore. But beware: The beaches are rocky, which can be hard on tender feet.
Another plus about Lake Bohinj is a cable car that goes from near the lake shore to the Vogel ski resort, which has an amazing view of the lake and the Julian Alps, including Mt. Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia at 9,400 feet.
The mountain weather can be fickle, so best to carry an umbrella with you in case a thunderstorm comes rolling in.
Karst Region
From Lake Bohinj we drove two hours to the Karst (limestone) plateau, famous for its caves and vineyards. We took a tour of the Postojna cave system, one of the biggest in the world with its impressive stalagmite and stalactite formations, and visited the Predjama Castle that was built inside a cave on a cliff between the 13th and 16th centuries. We spent the night in a “bio-hotel” outside the walled city of Štanjel, with its nearby vineyards. (It turns out that Štanjel [“SCHTAHniel”] is a contraction of the Slovenian equivalent of St. Daniel.)
Slovenian Istria
From Štanjel, we drove to the coast, where we briefly visited the ports of Koper and Piran,
Koper (population 25,500) is the largest city on the Slovenian coast and is only 12 miles from Trieste. It was ruled by the Venetian Republic during the 15th and 16th centuries, when a typical Venetian piazza – originally called the Piazza del Duomo, now named Titov Trg (Tito Square) – was constructed, complete with three Renaissance palazzi (one with a beautiful loggia) and a cathedral.
Piran (population 3,800) is located at the tip of a narrow peninsula, which means that you have to park in garages at the edge of town and either walk 15 minutes or take a bus for one euro to the main square of Tartinijev Trg (named after native son and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, 1692-1770), where the Tourist Information Office is located. The square was the inner harbor until it was filled in in 1894. Piran is one of the most picturesque towns on the Adriatic – not just Slovenian – coast. There is a hilltop cathedral and bell tower, an old town with cobbled streets, and a walkway leading to the point lined with restaurants and bars, with people bathing on the north side.
From Piran we drove across the border with Croatia (no border check) to what the guidebooks call the “hinterlands” of Istria.
CROATIAN ISTRIA TODAY
Istria is one of 20 counties in Croatia. Since it was the furthest west of the counties, it was not affected by the war with Serbia. Indeed, it served as the refuge for Croatians who were displaced during the war. While today only 5% of Istrians are of Italian heritage (down from 50% for much of the time between the Roman era and World War II), the county is officially bilingual, Croatian and Italian.
The coastal towns have their rocky beaches (“water shoes” are a must). The hinterlands have hill towns and gastronomy, including the big three – truffles, olive oil and wine – which has earned it the sobriquet “the New Tuscany”. The principal grape varietal for red wine is Teran, the principal varietal for white wine is Malvaija. The toast in Istria is “Živjeli!” (pronounced zheev-veh-lee) to wish for a long and healthy life.
The Hinterlands
We started our brief stay in Istrian Croatia with two days in the hinterlands, where we visited the medieval hilltop towns of Motovun with its impressive ramparts, and Grožnjan, which is now an artists’ colony. One day we ate a delicious lunch at a family-run farm that served local dishes made from their own produce and that of their neighbors. These simple but tasty restaurants are known as “agrorturizam”. The one where we went was Agroturizam Tonćiç, Ćarabanica 42, Oprtalj (open Friday through Sunday, upon reservation): www.agroturizam-toncic.com
We stayed at the trendy Roxanich Winery & Design Hotel just below Motovun, which had a wonderful restaurant with a spectacular view overlooking the surrounding countryside: https://www.roxanich.com/
The Coast
The big three towns on the west coast of Istria are Pula, Poreč and Rovinj.
Pula was founded by the Romans in 177 BC and is famous for its well-preserved amphitheater built between 27 BC and 68 AD.
Poreč’s claim to fame is the magnificent Euphrasius Basilica which was built in the 6th century in the early Byzantine style and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
The fishing port Rovinj can’t compete with the historic monuments of Poreč and Pula, but it is by far the most pleasant place to stay, with its scenic Old Town clustered below the Baroque Church of Euphemia (built at the top of a hill between 1725 and 1736) and its 200-foot-high bell tower I1654-1680), and its nearby park and beaches.
We stayed in Rovinj (pronounced “Roh-veene”) for three nights and made outings to Poreč and the medieval town of Bale (with its impressive walls and bell tower) from there. We never made it to Pula.
Rovinj (population 14,000) was originally an island-hill that was first surrounded by a wall in the 7th century. The narrow channel between the island and the mainland was filled in in 1763. The city center has been pedestrianized, and its narrow streets are paved with limestone blocks that have been polished by both residents and visitors over the centuries. (Not great for rolling suitcases, however.)
My favorite day was when we bicycled 30 minutes into the forest park next to Rovinj, went for a swim (I wore my sandals), and had a picnic lunch.
As in all the coastal cities, there are plenty of restaurants in Rovinj, especially on the seaside. The restaurant Monte near the Church of Euphemia was the first restaurant in Croatia to win a Michelin star, in 2021. We didn’t dine there, but we did dine at Puntulina, which served tasty seafood at outdoor tables on multiple terraces overlooking the sea: https://puntulina.eu/
La Petite Histoire
King Louis XIII of France enlisted Croatian mercenaries to fight for France in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). The Croatian soldiers wore hats made of fur, long red coats, and scarves around their necks. The French – ever fashion conscious – were impressed by their outfit and soon adopted the scarf, naming it after the Croats. But the French mispronounced “croat” as “cravate”. The “cravate” (“cravat” in English) evolved into the modern-day necktie.
CONCLUSION
Both Slovenia (“the only country with ‘love’ embedded in its name”) and Istria (“the New Tuscany”) combined historic charm with modern infrastructure, starting with excellent highways built thanks to the EU. It was easy to drive, thanks to Google Maps and ubiquitous signage in English.
The people we met in both Slovenia and Istria were uniformly friendly and helpful. Our Istrian guide Oz taught us the word “fjaka”, which I couldn’t find online but apparently means “laidback”. He said the further from Europe, the more laidback the people are. The Slovenes are laidback, the Istrians are more laidback, the Dalmatians are totally “fjaka”.
Slovenian and Croatian languages are both Southern Slavic languages, like French and Italian are both Romance languages, with many cognates. But the dialects spoken spoke on either side of the border in Istria are much the same – or at least so we were told since we understood virtually nothing spoken, and it was hard to guess the meanings of written words. For example: “vhod” means “entrance” and “izhod” means “exit”.
Many words have been “disemvowelled” (sorry), such as:
- “trg” means “square”
- “rt” means “cape”
- “vrh” means “peak” or “top”
- “grm” means “bush”
- “trn” means “thorn”
- “vrč” means “jug”
- “prst” means “finger”
- “grd” means “ugly”
I got by with two words that work in both Slovenian and Croatian: “hvala” (“thank you”) and
“pivo” (“beer”).
Fortunately for us anglophones, most Slovenes and Croats speak excellent English, and most signs and menus are in English. The local television channels broadcast English and American TV shows and movies, new and old, in the original version with subtitles.
We were impressed by how clean both Slovenia and Istria were. Croatia is officially recognized by the European Environmental Agency as having the cleanest coastal waters in Europe. Slovenia came in fourth in the latest rankings (after Cyprus and Greece).
Both Slovenia and Istria seem to have fully embraced Europe and capitalism, but our guide Oz told us that many people were nostalgic for Tito’s Yugoslavia, when everyone had a house, enjoyed free education and health care, and earned a living wage.
Bottom line: Inland Slovenia reminded us of Austria, and the coastal cities of Istria reminded us of Italy, which makes perfect sense given their long histories as part of the Hapsburg Empire and the Venetian Republic, respectively. The highlights of our trip were Ljubljana and Lake Bohinj in Slovenia, and Rovinj in Croatian Istria.
FACT CHECK IN LUCCA
To check Istria’s claim to be “the New Tuscany”, we spent four days in the Old Tuscany, near the city of Lucca (population 90,000) in the northwest corner of Tuscany, due west of Florence and just north of Pisa. Lucca is famous for its well-preserved historic center surrounded by 2.5-mile-long, perfectly intact city walls built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Lucca is known as “the City of 100 Churches”. The city map lists 27 churches intra muros, and we visited several of them. Our favorites were the Cathedral of Saint Martin with its impressive bell tower, and the Church of San Michele in Foro with its four-tier wedding cake façade. Lucca was also the birthplace of opera composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).
Apart from the magnificent churches, we visited three villas in the hills northeast of Lucca: the totally restored Villa Reale di Marila, which was Napoleon’s sister Elisa’s summer residence when she was Princess of Lucca and Piombino between 1805 and 1814, and the totally unrestored Villa Torrigiani in the hamlet of Camigliano, which was transformed to its present state by Lucca’s ambassador to Versailles, who (among other things) built a new Baroque façade on the south side of the villa.
We also visited the gardens of Garzoni in the town of Collodi, both clinging to the mountainside. For information about the remarkable villas, palaces and gardens in and around Lucca, check out their association’s website (which has some terrific photos that I guarantee will whet your appetite): https://www.villeepalazzilucchesi.it/web/index.php
Comparing Istria to Tuscany is like comparing New England to Olde England. The surface area and population of Tuscany are roughly ten times those of Istria. And Tuscany was at the epicenter of the Renaissance, whereas Istria was on the edge of the Venetian Republic. But both “vaut le voyage”, as the Michelin Guide says.
I will note, however, that the roads are better in Istria, the drivers are more “fjaka”, and flying in and out of the brand new and empty airport in Ljubljana (actually in Kranj, a 30-minute drive from the capital) was a pleasure compared to flying in and out of the dated and jammed airport in Pisa.
CLOSING REMARK
We had guides show us the sights of Ljubljana, the hill towns of Istria, and the Villa Torrigiani outside Lucca, and they added immeasurably to our understanding and enjoyment of those places. When in doubt, get a guide.
Ciao.
