Izvori za etnografiju Istre 1848-1945 godine
Sources for the Ethnography of Istria between 1848 and 1945

Summary/Abstract: The crucial year of 1848 and the abolishment of feudalism did not bring much improvement to the peasant of Istria since the colon relations continued. Ethnographic descriptions written after that year mostly had the purpose of supporting the governing class, and proving that the Slav population, which was the most numerous, did not have any ethnographic distinctions and thus should naturally assimilate to Italian culture. The major proponent of such ideas was Carlo Combi. Some of his views were incorporated also in later publications. The travelogues of French and Austrian authors from that period are somewhat more objective when they present ethnographic data. They exist, however, only for the period before the Italian occupation, while after World War I only descriptions by Italian authors become available. At the end of the 19th century, Josip Ptašinski tried to start the publication of »The Ethnography of the Slavic People in Istria« and to establish an ethnographic museum, but with no success. Several Croatian authors collected data on culture, but a very small part of their manuscripts was published. Their work also ceased during the Italian occupation; for instance, it was forbidden to Jakov Mikac to carry out any ethnographic research. During the Second World War, Istrian villages were destroyed,. and so was the material ethnographic evidence and sources. After the War, the ethnographic research has not been properly organized, so that even today we do not have enough data gathered for an ethnographic presentation of Istria.

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