List of Notable People from Istrian Region in Croatia
Coat of arms of Istria
This is a list of notable Istrians. People of Istrian descent born outside the geographical region of Istria have their place of birth credited. The nationality and ethnicity of people included in this list are not mentioned.[a]
Stjepan Mohorovičić, physicist, geophysicist and meteorologist called "the father of positronium," whose existence he predicted.[4]
Fran Novljan, Croatian educator and andragogue.
Herman Potočnik, rocket engineer, pioneer of astronautics; He is remembered for his work addressing the long-term human habitation of space, and for conceiving the first space station.
Santorio Santorio, physiologist and physician who is considered the father of modern quantitative experimentation in medicine. His studies of basal metabolism introduced quantitative experimental procedure into medical research.[5]
Laura Antonelli (Antonaz[6]), film actress, who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991.
Joe Bastianich, American restaurateur, author, showman, television personality born in Queens, N.Y. to Istrian parents of Italian nationality but largely East European descent.[7][b]
Lidia Bastianich, celebrity chef, television host, author, and restaurateur.
Karlo Bilić (Charles Billich), contemporary artist based in Sydney, Australia.
Rick Rossovich, American actor, who was born in Palo Alto, California, U.S. to a father of distant Istrian Croatian origins (his paternal great-great grandfather was from Mošćenička Draga).[9][10][11]
Tim Rossovich, American actor, former NFL linebacker and 1969 Pro Bowl. He was the brother of actor Rick Rossovich.
Viktor Car Emin (1870 – 1963), writer, publicist, and revivalist of Croatian nationalism.
Zvane Črnja, poet, prose writer, essayist, culturologist, screenwriter, playwright and filmologist, journalist, publicist, polemicist and publisher.
Andreas Divus Justinopolitanus, Renaissance scholar who translated the Iliad and the Odyssey into Latin, and was the author of their first published version.
Drago Gervais, poet, writer and playwright in the Chakavian dialect of Croatian.
Simon Greblo, priest , Glagolitic writer and scribe. Along with Žakan Juri, he was one of the most important connoisseurs of the Glagolitic alphabet at the end of the 15th century.
Antun Kalac, poet, writer, playwright, translator and revivalist of Croatian nationalism.
Eugen Kumičić, writer and politician. Kumičić was one of the most prolific Croatian novelists of the realism era and a pioneer of naturalism in Croatian literature. With Ante Starčević, he significantly contributed to the birth of Croatian nationalism.[15]
Giuseppina Martinuzzi, educator, journalist, socialist, and feminist.
Luka Šulić, cellist born in Maribor to an Istrian Slovenian mother from Izola.[20][21] He is a member of 2CELLOS, along with Stjepan Hauser, who was born in Pula.
Lea Sirk, singer who represented Slovenia at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
Giuseppe Tartini, Baroque composer and violinist.
Francesco Usper, composer and organist.
Alen Vitasović, Croatian pop singer and songwriter, famous for singing and writing songs about Istria in the Chakavian dialect.
Wilhelm Ehm, WW2 Wehrmacht veteran and East German Admiral who was Deputy Minister of National Defense of the German Democratic Republic and head of the People's Navy (Volksmarine).
Mario Visintini, MOVM, Italian naval officer during World War II, Gold Medal of Military Valour, nicknamed cacciatore scientifico (scientific fighter pilot).
Luciano Delbianco, Mayor of Pula; he successfully negotiated the peaceful removal of Yugoslav troops in the 1990s, saving the city from destruction.
Juraj Dobrila, Catholic bishop, printer and benefactor from Istria who advocated for greater national rights for Croats and also Slovenes in Istria under Austrian rule.
Saints, Beati and Venerables in the Catholic Church[]
Francesco Bonifacio, beato.
Egidio Bullesi (Bullessich), Venerable, the confirmation of his life of heroic virtue in 1997 allowed for Pope John Paul II to name him as Venerable.[22]
Juraj Cvečić, Protestant reformer, translator and editor.
Flacius (Matija Vlačić-Franković Ilirik), Lutheran reformer, pioneer in church historical studies, and "theological controversialist who created a lasting rift within Lutheranism."[23]
Matija Grbić (Garbitius), humanist, classical philologist, translator and protégé of Luther and Melanchthon, who was dean of the University of Tübingen between 1545 and 1557. He helped and promoted Flacius in Tübingen.
Stjepan Konzul Istranin, translator and reformer who translated the New Testament into Croatian and authored and translated religious books into Čakavian dialect.[24]
Sebastian Krelj, Protestant reformer, writer, pastor, linguist and preacher born in Vipava, modern day Slovenia
Baldo Lupetina (Lupetino), reformer from Labin, who preached both in Chakavian dialect and Italian; he was the uncle-in-law and mentor of Flacius, and was executed for heresy in Venice.
Pier Paolo Vergerio (Vergerij), protestant reformer.
Flacius
Konzul Istranin
Other[]
Asher Lämmlein, 16th-century self-proclaimed forerunner of the Jewish messiah.
Sports[]
Silvano Abbà, modern pentathlete who won a bronze medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Jasmin Agić, former football player who played for Dinamo Zagreb and Croatia's national football team, son-in-law of Srećko Juričić.
Mario Andretti, former racing driver. He won the Formula One Championship in 1978.
Andretti family, John, Jeff, Michael and his son Marco all competed in major racing championships and sports races. Most notably, Michael won a CART championship, and a 3rd place at the 1993 Italian F1 Grand Prix. They all descend from Istrian-Italian immigrant to the U.S. Mario Andretti.
Nino Benvenuti, boxer, who won a gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics and two European Amateur Championships, and as a professional the EBU Middleweight Title and the WBA and WBC super welterweight and middleweight titles.
Lino Červar, former handball coach, who in 2003 guided Croatia men's national handball team to a gold at the 2003 World Championship. He also won the gold at the 2004 Olympics. Červar also won 2 silvers at the World Cup, 3 silvers and 2 bronzes at the Europeans, 1 gold and two bronzes at the Mediterranean Games.
Giliante D'Este, in addition to the gold medal won in 1928 with the Isola team, D'Este won an additional bronze medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics (coxless four).
Luigi De Manincor, sailor who won a gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Srećko Juričić, former football player who won two with HNK Rijeka and is considered one of Rijeka's greatest players of all time.[28] He's currently the sporting director of HNK Rijeka.
Alvaro Načinović, former handball player born in Rijeka,[d] who represented both Croatia and Yugoslavia. He won a bronze at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Representing Croatia he won the gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics, a silver at the 1995 World Cup and a bronze at the 1994 Euro Cup.
Sandro Nicević, basketball player who won a silver with Croatia at the FIBA U18 European Championship. He played at EuroBasket 1997, EuroBasket 2003, EuroBasket 2009, and represented Croatia at the 2008 Olympics.
Abdon Pamich, race walker born in Rijeka (Fiume)[e] who won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics competing for Italy.
Igor Pamić, former football player who played for the Croatian national football team.
Mate Parlov, boxer, European Amateur Champion in 1971 and 1973; World Amateur Champion in 1974, and gold medalist at the 1912 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he won the EBU Light Heavyweight title in 1976, and the WBC Light Heavyweight Title in 1978. He was born in Split, but raised in Pula, where he moved in his childhood.
Toni Perković, basketball player playing for Split and Croatia's national football team.
Luka Stepančić, handball player who competed for Croatia in the 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 World Championships, as well as the 2018 and 2020 European Championships, winning the silver in 2020. He represented Croatia at the 2016 Summer Olympics, won the Croatian and French championships, and reached the final of the Champions League with PSG.
Antonio Vojak, professional footballer who played for Juventus F.C. and Naples. He won the 1925–26 Serie A with Juventus, and with 102 goals with Naples is the club's top goalscorer of all times.
Vasilij Žbogar, sailor born in Koper. He won two silvers and a bronze at the Olympic Games.
^except for people of Istrian descent born outside Europe
^Regarding her identity, Joe's mother Lidia has stated: "I feel very Italian, but I do have some Slavic in me, and I relate to that as well; so that forms the mixture that is Lidia."[8]
^Bublé has stated in his memoir: "[On the side of the family native of modern-day Croatia] some say we're Yugoslavian, others that we're Italian."[18]
^Načinović is a surname that originates from Labin, Istria. Today, the surname is still most prevalent in Istria.[30]
^Although Pamich was born in Fiume and competed for Italy, Pamić is a surname typical of Istria, originating from Pazin.[31] Other notable Istrians with this surname include international footballer Igor Pamić, his son Zvonko, his late son Alen, and his nephew Manuel
^S. Mohorovičić (1934). "Möglichkeit neuer Elemente und ihre Bedeutung für die Astrophysik". Astronomische Nachrichten. 253 (4). pp. 93–108. Bibcode:1934AN....253...93M. doi:10.1002/asna.19342530402.
^Lisanti, Tom; Paul, Louis (2002). "Laura Antonelli". Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962–1973. McFarland. pp. 44–46. ISBN978-0-7864-1194-8.
^Dretzin, Rachel; Gladsjo, Leslie Asako; McGee, Dyllan; Kunhardt, Peter; Segaller, Stephen (March 2016). "The Long Way Home". Finding Your Roots. PBS.
^Dretzin, Rachel; Gladsjo, Leslie Asako; McGee, Dyllan; Kunhardt, Peter; Segaller, Stephen (November 2020). "Flight". Finding Your Roots. PBS.
