Old postcards of Svetvinčenat

Svetvinčenat, also known as Savičenta in local dialect (or in Italian: Sanvincenti), is one of the many highlights of interior Istria. If you visit this charming town's square you'll see that it hasn't changed much from how it looked in this postcard from 1901.

Dominating the square is the Renaissance-style church and Morosini-Grimani castle, both built in the 13th century (the castle's towers were added later in the 16th century). There's also an enclosed well taking up a section of the square and in the south-western corner, a loggia.

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This atmospheric Renaissance piazza and the castle provide the backdrops for the annual medieval festival held here in the summer, and a contemporary dance festival every July.

On a summer evening, Svetvinčenat is a great place to have a drink at one of the little cafes lining the road leading to the square, or a pizza on the terrace right on the square itself.

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The arched windows of its houses, crumbling facades and antique-style lanterns also add a touch of old world charm that make this little town one of my favourites in Istria.

Old postcards of Pula

Among my collection of old postcards are a few of Pula, Istria's biggest and southernmost city. Two feature its most famous landmark, the 1st century arena, known as one of the world's best preserved Roman amphitheatres.

But I find the ones of Pula's market much more interesting. In the image below we see the iron and glass market building built in 1903 during the Austro-Hungarian empire. It was restored in 1997 and today it looks a lot like it did 115 years ago (see photo later in this post). The fish market is located on the ground floor while on the upper level reached via the wrought-iron staircases are a few shops and cafes.

I'm fascinated by the people we see in the foreground. In the centre of the photograph we see two elegantly dressed women carrying handbags who have probably come to shop at the market. And it looks like a woman to the far right is carrying a parasol. In contrast, a pair of women on the left look more like country folk and are wearing headscarves and carrying baskets. They've probably come to sell their goods at the market.

This photo is of the outdoor fruit and vegetable market which still takes place here daily under neat rows of chestnut trees and bright red umbrellas. The original stone tables are still here and the vendors are still mostly women who come from the countryside and sell their fresh produce to the city dwellers. But unlike 100 years ago, they're dressed a lot like their customers.

If you look closely you can spot two soldiers or military men strolling through the market. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Pula was the empire's naval base.

Here's what Pula market looks like today:

Vintage hotel posters

Today we're going way, way back with these vintage hotel posters!

Aren't they groovy? Enjoy!

Old postcards of Rovinj

Don't you love old postcards? I do!

A neighbour showed me his fascinating collection of 300 old postcards dating back to the early 1900s of Istrian towns and villages printed by an Italian publisher. I scanned the ones I found the most interesting and will be sharing some here. I had already shared a post on old postcards of Gračišće, the village I live in.

Today I'm taking you back in time to early 20th century Rovinj:

1918 -- a view of Rovinj from St Catherine Island

This photo was taken almost exactly 100 years ago. It looks like the tiny island of St Catherine was always a popular beach destination. Today it's also the site of a large hotel, Island Hotel Katarina. I imagine their rooms must have stunning views across the water of Rovinj's old town.

This shot of one of Rovinj's commercial streets in the old town was taken in 1902. The streets of the old town still look very similar today.

Taken in 1906, this is Rovinj's pier.

And last we have Rovinj's Piazza del Ponte (Trg na Mostu), captured in 1905.

An old postcard of Gračišće

Last week a neighbour lent me his collection of 300 postcards of towns and villages across Istria photographed in the early 1900s. I've been looking through this fascinating collection of images and scanning the ones I find interesting. 

I've decided to start a new series on old postcards and will be sharing a few of them here.

I'm starting with the village I live in first, but the old postcards I'm including in this post do not come from my neighbour's collection, but from a book!

The postcard above is of Gračišće's Salamon Palace, with a greeting written in Italian: un saluto de Gallignana (Gallignana being the name for Gračišće in Italian). This Gothic-style building was built almost 450 years ago, and always gets noticed by visitors to the village. Unfortunately, this historic building is crumbling away with time -- I told its story in this post. This is what it looks like today:

The date on the postcard below is 1900, and this time 'greetings from Gračišće' is written in Croatian. 

The photographer who took the top photo was standing in front of St. Mary's Church on the village square (famous for its 15th century frescoes), and looking south. In the centre of the photograph is a house that no longer exists. This is what the same view looks like today:

Meanwhile the bottom image in the postcard was taken next to St. Anthony's chapel and is looking towards the church of St. Euphemia. This is the same view today:

I hope you enjoyed this step back in time!

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