Labinština

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Istria County showing Labinština

Labinština (Croatian: Labinšćina / Labinština,^[1] Italian: L'Albonese / Agro Albonese) is a peninsula which is 25 km long and 13 km wide. It is located on the eastern coast of Istria County in Croatia, and was named after the city of Albona/Labin which had control of the territory. Istria County was occupied by many invaders throughout its history. The County was made up of 16 Comuni; one of these was Albona/Labin. Albona was the head township of the Agro Albonese or Labinština under the Roman Empire in 177 BC, during the Venice Republic between 1365-1799, the Austria-Hungary Empire between 1814-1918 and many other occupations by foreign armies. During the Venetian and Austrian periods, Istria was divided into farming fractions or townships (comuni) each having a chief town called capo-comune. ^[2][3]

Labinština Peninsula in Istria County, Croatia[]

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Labinština/Agro Albonese, is an agricultural territory which surrounds Albona. In the first half of the XIV century the Patriarch of Aquileia ordered a statute for the city of Albona, published in 1341, including in it was the description of the borders of its territory. The Signore Tommasso Luciani, a native from Albona, contributed a copy of the book to the magazine L'Istria. After translating from Latin to Italian, It was noted in the weekly L'Istria the Latin word "Insulae" means Island. Since there were no islands in the territory they started to research. It seems during the Roman Empire era, the word Insulae or Island, was used to specify a municipality or commune with its own government in the Roman world. Also it said that a city, which is self governed is called an Insulae. Insulae were also fractions of a city which constituted a body of tenements encircled by a public highway. Albona because it had a Dumviri at the head of the communes was also called a Republic.^[4] The borders of the Labinština Peninsula are made up of the Arsa/Raša river, which starts in the lake Cosliaco / Cepich the only lake in the Istrian County, on the west and south, and the Kvarner Gulf (Golfo del Quarnaro) on the east and south. This lake was being fed by the Planinski masiv Učka mountain range located near Opatija (Abbazia) and the eastern coast of Istria. The Romans used this mountain range water source, and the Cepich lake, to feed major cities, from Labin on the east side to Pula (Pola) in the south. Lake Cepich was emptied and dried in the mid-1932^[5] to get rid of malaria-causing swamps.^[6] Labin was the main or head town of the territory and townships of the Labinština peninsula and before 1632 there were four parishes, Dubrova, Santa Domenica d'Albona, , St. Lucia d'Albona, St. Lorenzo in Produbas.^[7]

St Lucia church in Skitaca built in 1616

In 1632, the territory was divided into 12 townships called comuni municipalities, ville hamlets, contrade districts and parishes which were the heads of districts before the organization of municipalities). In the re division which Austria decided between 1814-1818 the two districts. Albona and Fianona, were kept. Fianona had the sub districts of, Cerre, , Santa Domenica d'Albona, Dubrova, , and . Albona had four sub districts, , , Vlakovo, Istria, and Cerovica (Istria). was added to Albona later.^[8]

Parishes in 1632[]

District of Albona[]

The person who was the head of each commune or contrada was called Zuppan and was elected to the position. One of the head townships (Head Commune) was the city of Albona; the other was the city of Fianona. Before 1632 there was only one district and that was the District od Albona. The district consisted of the castle of Albona and the castle of Fianona. The district had two collegiate churches for the two castles.^[9] In 1632,by The Provictor of Dalmazia and Albania, Antonio Civran, divided the territory of Albona into twelve sub-Districts.^[10] under the Venice Republic, and in 1800, under Austria-Hungary, control over the other townships in the Labinština peninsula was changed. Twelve townships or districts (Contrade) were mapped in the Labinština Peninsula. These twelve communes or districts were placed under the control of Albona, the Head Commune, capo comune.

Albona Republic[]

Roman soldiers built military roads starting in Rome, capital of the Roman Empire, continuing in every direction across the Empire. One of the roads came across Istria County and then branched to major cities. This road came through the city of Barban. The Romans built a bridge across the Raša River in Istria County. The road continued through Albona/Labin toward Dalmatia. The Romans built Aqueducts in Istria and other parts of the Roman Empire. Učka mountain (Monte Maggiore) is the largest mountain in Istria, located in the Ćićarija (Ciceria) mountain range on the east side of the Istrian peninsula. From this mountain range, water was transported to many cities by Roman aqueducts. The city of Pula (Pola) on the southern tip of Istria was the summer home of the Emperors and Caesar family who also built the Amphitheater, also known as the Arena. The Aqueducts were made of lead pipes and tubes to transport and direct water to various places in Istria. Using aqueducts as a way of transporting water where it was needed had been used across the vast Roman Empire for many centuries.

The following inscriptions in the church of S.Sabastian's altar was written on the marble tile. Latin: M-IVLIO SEVERO FILIPPO NOBILISSIMO CAESARI NOBILISSIMO PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS RESPVBLICA ALBONESSIVM (Italian: Marco Iulio Severo Filippo nobilissimo Caesare nobilissimo Principe (ivventvtis) Albona Republica, English: Mark Gulio Severo Filippo most noble Caesar most noble Prince (ivventvtis) Albona Republic)

12 Communes or Townships in the Labinshina Peninsula of Istria County in Croatia

^[11] On page 383 we read- "One of the noble family named Luciani settled in the classical Republica Albonesium, the only classical Istrian Republic, as early as the 14th century".^[12]

Austrian Littoral (Istria County)[]

The Austrian Littoral was formed in 1813 from coastal territories which were controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Littoral included the cities of: Trieste, Gorizia and Gradisca, Fiume, the Istrian peninsula, the Kvarner (Quarnero) Islands, and Croatia that was not under military control. This gave Austria control of the major ports on the Kvarner Gulf. Austria began mapping the Littoral for agricultural and tax purposes. The Territory was divided into agricultural fractions. All the parcels were surveyed and mapped to show ownership. Each parcel of land was classified starting from class "I" as the best arable land, to the least arable land, and so-noted on the maps. Grains were harvested, and each type was noted showing yield per acre. The census, surveying, classification of land and forests, and all other noted yields of grain and animals, was completed in 1837.

Townships or Ville in Labinština, Istria County in the 1800[]

The townships of the territory of Albona were as follows with the city of ALBONA / LABIN as the Head Commune or capo comune of the territory:

Cerovica (Istria)[]

The township Croatian: Cerovica / Italian: Cerovizza is bordered on the east by the sea of Quarnero from S.Martino to Brovinje; to the North by the Township Chermenizza; and to the East by the Township Croatian: Vlakovo, Istria. The head hamlet of the Township of Cerovica was Croatian: Skitača Italian: Schitazza which is located approximately 4 km north-east of Brovinje. In the hamlet of Skitača is the chapel of Saint Lucy of Albona which became a parish church for all of the Township of Cerovica. The small chapel was built in 1616 and became a Parish in 1632. The last time it was renovated was in the 1990s.^[13]

Census Data in 1827 for the Township of Cerovica (Istria)[]

The Classifications of the land in the Township of Cerovica (Istria)[]

Hamlets in the Township of Cerovica (Istria) in the 1800[]

Populated Hamlets and Fractions in Cerovica in 1800

Ports of Labinština[]

Since there were no roads in the territory, the sea was the only way that some hamlets would get supplies and exchanged oil, wine, salt, animals, and other goods in exchange for sugar, coffee, tobacco, and clothing. The locals also cut trees and sold timber to buyers who came on flat bottom boats called Trabakul. The following ports on the Labinstina ^[14] coast in the Sea of Quarnero were frequented by ships from the major cities like Trieste, Venezia, among a few.

Chapels in Labinština[]

^[15] These are some of the chapels in the Labinština in Istria County Croatia.

Village is a group of houses in the country, larger than hamlet and smaller than a town or city. Such a community incorporated as a municipality^[16] There were no villages in the Township of Cerovica in the 1800, only hamlets and small settlements with a few houses. In the hamlet of Prodol there was a coal mine which employed between four and six men daily. The people of the hamlet of Brovinje near the sea were fishermen and farmers. The names of these hamlets were German in the 1800s.^{[dubious – discuss][citation needed]} Between 1918 and 1945 the names were changed to Italian. After 1945, the names were changed again, this time to Croatian. Some hamlets joined with other very close hamlets or fractions to form a brand new name or using only one name for the group.^[17]

Links to Labinština[]

• Istria County
• Brovinje
• Labin
• Koromačno
• Skitača

See also[]

• Istria County
• Brovinje
• Koromačno
• Via Flavia
• Roman roads
• Cerovica (Istria)

References[]