Sovinjak – Sovignacco: “It was the first bauxite mining site in the World”
Other castles that were part of the defensive line were: Draguc, Hum, Roc i Vrh.
Boiani family was in charge of the village during Venice domination. After the Venice fall Sovinjak was shortly ruled by Austria and later on by Napoleon.
After the Napoleon fall was part of Austria and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until 1918. Between the two World Wars was part of Italy and after the Second World War became part of Yugoslavia (Croatia).
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 Sovinjak 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 Sovinjak is today part of Croatia.
In 2013 Sovinjak 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.
SOVINJAK - SOVIGNACCO: "ROMA CAPUT VINI" video book presentation recommeded by ISTRIA from SMRIKVE
"Roma Caput Vini" is a fascinating Italian book published by Mondadori in 2011 by three experts, Giovanni Negri, an Italian journalist, politician and wine producer; Elisabetta Petrini, an Czech-born Italian researcher, and Attilio Scienza, a professor of viticulture the University of Milan as well as a contributor to French and British wine journals.
The authors explain how wine played a key role in the so-called Pax Romana, Rome's refusal to impose its religion, language and customs on its colonies, preferring the notion of a melting pot. Planting vineyards became the expression of seeking roots in a place, a clear political message from the empire to coveted portions occupied territories (leading to the Latin expression hic manebimus optime, or "here we'll stay.")...
In the book you can find explanation traces of the story told on Wine Pucinum...