Ethnographic texts from Svetvinčenat

Abstract

There are three texts with ethnographic information pertinent to Svetvincenat. The first was written in the mid-19th century, the remaining two in more recent times. Antonio Facchinetti, the parish priest of Svetvincenat, published in the Trieste magazine "L'Istria" in 1847 an essay with the title Degli Slavi Istriani, and it was the first ethnographic review of everyday life of Istrian Croats. He described the customs linked to marriage, birth and burial, depicted the way of life, alimentation and dress, as well as religious life and mentality. Facchinetti, who was of Italian nationality, wrote with understanding of the rural Croats, wishing to deny the prejudices on the primitive nature of Croatian peasants. The text was subsequently published three more times, and the A. comments briefly on each one. In 1975 Ivan Milovan, the actual bishop of Poreč and Pula, wrote a short monograph on Svetvinčenat: Savičenta jučer danas (Savičenta yesterday and today). Along with historic facts, he presents also a lot of ethnographic information, of which the description of an early modem tournament from 1713 is maybe the most significant. In 1995 the Commune of Svetvinčenat published a booklet Istarski suvenir (Istrian Souvenir) with the text by Josip Milićević. It includes photographs and short description of souvenirs, but also a text on the traditional way of life in an Istrian village.