Gračišće landmarks: Kašća

Another important historical landmark here in the village located right next to the Salamon Palace and opposite St. Mary's Church is a building called kašća. This was the granary and many towns and villages dating back to medieval times had one. 

A post shared by Isabel (@isabelswindow) on Apr 14, 2016 at 11:02am PDT

Next to St. Mary's Church is a large piece of stone with five deep indentations (see photo above). This was used as a measure for taxes paid in the form of grain. After it was collected it would be stored in the granary and a share was distributed to poorer residents.

The building dates back to 1576 and like its next-door neighbour, is in a sad state of disrepair. More recently the roof has fallen in and like other abandoned buildings here in the village it's under long-standing litigation.

There are plans by the municipality to restore this handsome building and turn it into a wine museum though I would prefer to see it used as a cultural space instead. But I'm looking forward to the day when one of the village's important landmarks located on its main square is completely restored to its former glory. 

You know you grew up in an Istrian family when...

Have you come across those jokes and memes about growing up in a certain culture abroad that are light-hearted pokes at what it's like to grow up in, for example, an Italian or Indian immigrant family? I've even come across You Know You're Croatian When...

Well, I've come up with my own version of:

You know you grew up in an Istrian family (abroad) when...

1. You had to address your parents' friends as barba or teta.
2. 90% of your parents' friends were Istrian or Italian.
3. You couldn't understand the few Croatian friends your parents did have.
4. You didn't go to the Croatian church.
5. You didn't go to "Croatian school" on Saturday mornings either.
6. Your parents would watch Italian TV.
7. You had radić and blitva growing in the backyard.
8. And pršut hanging in the cellar.
9. Your parents would make wine and rakija in the basement.
10. Rakija was used as medicine.
11. You got in trouble for walking barefoot.
12. You went to Catholic school.
13. You had a souvenir of the Pula Arena somewhere in the house.
14. And old copies of Istarska Danica.
15. And Jugoton cassettes of Lidija Percan. 

What did I forget?

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:

A woman and her olive grove

Maybe you've noticed that I'm a little obsessed with olive trees and olive oil. This obsession started here in Istria after I tried fresh new olive oil for the first time.

I can't go back to supermarket olive oil ever again – it's just nothing like the real thing. I look forward to the olive season every November when we help our neighbours pick their olives and head to a local producer to buy a year's supply of freshly-pressed olive oil.

I've been indulging my olive oil obsession not only by using it in the kitchen but also by writing news articles about all things related to it for Olive Oil Times. Sometimes I have the chance to write about the local olive oil scene here in Istria. I'm sharing two articles here I especially enjoyed researching and writing.

One profiles a woman producer (and fellow Canadian) who tends to her olive grove of 1500 trees on her own, producing an award-winning extra virgin olive oil. Hers is an interesting story of loss and resilience. You can read it here: Oliva Lucia: A Tale of Love, Loss and Leccino in Istria

The other article is about a Croatian celebrity chef who loves using olive oil in sometimes truly surprising ways: Chef Deniz Zembo’s Olive Oil Explorations

Vintage hotel posters

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

Aren't they groovy? Enjoy!

Istria's new olive oil museum

One thing I love about Istria is its olive trees and exceptional olive oil. 

Istria is the northern-most olive-growing region in the Mediterranean and olive oil has been produced here since Roman times. In the past two decades, the local olive oil industry has experienced a resurgence of sorts and Istrian olive oil has been put on the map thanks to its many excellent local producers. Many of these have won international awards for their high quality olive oil and for the past two years Istria has been named 'Best Olive Oil Region' by the Flos Olei olive oil guide.

A new museum that opened this summer in Pula is a fitting tribute to Istria's status as an increasingly important olive oil region. The Museum Olei Histriae (Museum of Istrian Olive Oil) is located on a pedestrian street in the city centre, within easy walking distance of the arena, the 1st century Roman amphitheatre. 

The museum includes a exhibition space that covers the 2000-year history of olive oil making in Istria (in four languages!) providing not only historical facts but also information about the scientific composition of olive oil and its health benefits. 

Audio-visual aspects make the experience participatory: wooden cupboards are opened to reveal interesting facts about olive oil, a short film introduces Istria as an olive-growing region, and a small room has been set up to look like a local 19th-century oil mill. There's also a kid's corner and – best of all – a tasting room where a professional olive oil sensory expert leads visitors through a guided tasting. At the entrance to the museum is a shop showcasing over 20 local olive oils available for purchase.

I recently visited the museum and wrote a short article for Olive Oil Times. You can read all about the museum at this link.

For more information about the museum and its opening hours, visit the website. 

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Gračišće landmarks: The Church of St. Mary on the Square

I've decided to do a mini-series on a few of Gračišće's most notable landmarks. I've already written about the crumbling elegance of the Salamon Palace, the 16th century Gothic building that probably attracts the most attention from visitors to the village.

I also wrote about my climb up to the top of the bell tower, from where I enjoyed the amazingly scenic views. 

And I've written about other landmarks like the church of St Euphemia (Eufemija), and the loggia (loža) as part of my Istria abecedary.

This post is about another of the village's six churches. You're probably thinking that that's a lot of churches for such a small place, but as you know, the medieval period in Europe was all about building churches and cathedrals -- and Gračišće used to have seven churches in total! 

Once you come through the entrance gateway and loggia and enter the village, one of the first buildings you'll see is the Church of St. Mary. It has a prominent place on the village's main square and stands out for its handsome stone porch. 

This little church dating back to the 15th century is full of fascinating little details: 

• It was built by Master Dento in 1425 and commissioned a local nobleman called Petar Beračić. During the Middle Ages it was often patrons from this privileged class who financed the building of churches as well as secular buildings. The names of both the builder and patron are engraved in Latin on a stone plaque to the left of the door.
• The altar is placed against the eastern wall as was common in the Middle Ages, so that the priest and congregation would face east.
• The eastern wall is covered by magnificent frescoes depicting the Adoration of the Magi, which also date to the 15th century. At some point they were actually painted over and only discovered much later when the church was being restored. Of the Three Wise Men depicted, one of them is wearing a hat and has detailed features: he's believed to be Petar Beračić. It was common at the time to paint the patron into a work that was commissioned by him. 
• If you look carefully at the joints between the stones that make up the western wall (to the right and left of the entrance) you'll see the twisted and rusty ends of nails that were hammered in between the blocks of stone. The story goes that on the night of the feast of St. Mary (August 15th), childless women would drive a nail into the wall after walking on their knees from the village's entrance gate. By doing so, they believed that they would conceive.
• The church's porch was added later, in the 17th century.

Today mass is still held here, but not regularly – usually when the main church is closed for renovations. And of course every year on August 15th, there's a mass dedicated to St. Mary.

The door is kept locked so if you'd like to visit the church, you have to ask for the key. Tip: in every village there's always a dedicated person who has the key to the church. How to find them? It's not that difficult: just ask anyone. Don't be shy to knock on someone's door. They'll be happy to help and thrilled that someone is interested in seeing the 15th century frescoes up close. Or knock on the green door on the square!