SALEZ – HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Historically also Salez was inhabited in prehistoric times and was a Roman settlement. It is sure that the top of the hill, 422 meters high and named St. George, was an important prehistoric hill fort settlement.

In the Middle Ages, Salez followed the similar history of the nearby Kostel (Pietra Pelosa). It is known that in 1286 was given to the Aquileia Patriarchs Raimondo and was named at that time Castrum de Salis. In 1356 was given to Isacco Turini, a banker from Florence and in 1440, Venetians gave it, together with Kostel, to the family Gravisi.

Later on the area followed the history of the other Istrian villages becoming part of the Austrian Empire with a short Napoleon’s rule period. Later on, after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, Salez was Italian between the two World Wars and finally became part of Yugoslavia (Croatia) after the Second World War.

During the Italian Fascist period in Istria many Istrian families suffered from the regime or had to leave Istria. Fascism in Istria applied various repressive measures mostly towards Slav populations and this created the Antifascist Movement. The Second World War was a very painful experience for the Istrian population and many innocent Istrians, both Slav and Latin, died during that war.

After the second World War Salez became part of Yugoslavia (Croatia). There were three agreements between Yugoslavia and Italy which established that Istria would become a part of Yugoslavia: Paris Agreement of 1947, London Memorandum of 1954 and the Osimo Agreement reached in 1975. In the first decade after the Second World War many Istrians, especially those living in towns and villages that for centuries were part of the Venice Republic, decided to leave Istria.

In 1991 with the fall of Yugoslavia and the founding of the Republic of Croatia, the internal republic boundaries were recognised as the state boundaries and Salez is today part of Croatia.

In 2013 Salez became part of the European Union. You can not change the past but you can try to learn from it. The main aim of the European Union founders was to build a system that could avoid future wars and future refugees in Europe as I explain in COSMOPOLITE.