Inscriptions of Croatia (Istria)

Inscriptions of Rovinj / Rovigno

Deutsch Français Italiano

Who are we? - Contacts - Collaboration - Site Map
Inscriptions of Croatia < Inscriptions < Areas of Interest < Welcome

Rovinj / Rovigno is situated on the west coast of the Istrian peninsula, few kilometers south of the famous Limski kanal, which is often called Lim(ski)-Fjord. The city has almost 15,000 inhabitants (among them about 11 % speaking Italian) and it is one of the important touristic centers of the country. A particularly popular touristic pinnacle is the historic city (città vecchia), which initially was an island but is now connected with the mainland since the natural channel (kanal) has been filled in. On the highest point of the historic city there is Saint Euphemia's basilica, which can be seen from afar.

Together with the determination of the frontier between Italy and Yugoslavia in the Treaty of Osimo, in 1975, a pact protecting the minorities living on both sides of the frontier was concluded. That is why in Rovinj / Rovigno there are many bilingual inscriptions and street signs as well as bilingual lessons in Croatian and Italian. This treaty (which unfortunately came very late) closed a long period of ethnical violences.

You will find more photos of Rovinj / Rovigno under Walking through Rovinj / Rovigno.

If you know any other inscriptions of Rovinj / Rovigno, please send them to us, possibly with indication of the place and photos of the inscriptions and their immediate surroundings (edifice, sculpture, etc.).

Linguistic Notes

All along the Dalmatian coast you will often see or hear the Croatian word "kanal". In contrast to the nearly homophonous words of other languages, the Croatian "kanal" doesn't designate an artificial channel but a natural arm of the sea.

In Rovinj / Rovigno as well as in other localities of the west coast of Istria, the Croatian-Italian bilingualism is an official one. That's why in many places of the city you will see bilingual street signs as well as the bilingual name of the city: grad Rovinj / città di Rovigno.

In Istria you can communicate in German or English or - only on the coast - in Italian. But if you say only some poor words in Croatian - from Dobar dan (Good morning, hello) via Hvala (Thank you) and Molim (Please) up to Do viđenja (Good by), you will generally get a grateful smile or even a real laudation.

Bibliography

Using the following links you can see whatever amazon is offering for the respective expressions or books. Arriving in the on-line bookshop, you can use its search function to look for any other words, titles, authors, or ASIN/ISBN numbers. There will never be an obligation to buy anything.

My Personal Suggestions

Searching For Literature

Using the following links to amazon you can find the books you are interested in. On the amazon sites you can retrieve books entering words, titles, authors, or ASIN / ISBN numbers in the related search fields. You will never be obliged to purchase anything if you do not want to.

Internet

Be aware of our legal reservation concerning any Internet reference.

Arrival by Public Transport

You can go to Rovinj / Rovigno by train or bus from many European cities via Triest, Ljubljana, or Zagreb.

For train links, see the on-line shop of your national railway companies or of the Croatian HŽ Putnički prijevoz.

For Croatian bus links see pulainfo.hr and balkanviator.com.

Note that the frequencies of busses and trains may vary depending on the season.

Indications concerning the arrival correspond to our personal knowledge or even experience, but we cannot assume any responsibility for their rightness. When you are reading this page, things may have changed in reality.

Hans-Rudolf Hower, 2014

Frequently-Asked Questions - Webmaster

Last updated: April 2, 2016