General Notes

OCCU Count of Istriastria,Serbo-Croatian ISTRA,  triangular peninsula that is part ofCroatia and Slovenia. It extends into the northeastern AdriaticSea between the Gulf of Venice (west) and the Gulf
of Kvarner(east). The peninsula has an area of 1,220 square miles (3,160square km). The northern portion is part of Slovenia, while thecentral and southern parts belong to Croatia. A tiny strip
ofcoast at its northwestern base is the site of Trieste andbelongs to Italy.Istria's highly indented shoreline, 267 miles (430 km) inlength, exhibits numerous drowned valleys. The west coast has
ascore of small offshore island groups, the most notable beingBrioni (Brijuni). The terrain basically  consists of a limestoneplateau, much of which lacks water owing to its karsttopography. The
northeast section consists of the mountains ofthe Dinaric Alps, with a maximum elevation of 4,596 feet (1,401m) at Mount Ucka. These modest heights slope gradually south andwest in undulating
terraces toward the  Adriatic. Parts of thepeninsula have thick forests, and places  suffering from theravages of timber cutting are being reforested. In the waterlesskarst areas a scrub vegetation
prevails. A Mediterranean climatebrings hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters.The population of Istria, approximately two-thirds of which isCroatian,  engages mostly in agriculture. Wheat, corn
(maize),rye, oats, figs, fruit, and olives are grown in the fertilewestern and southeastern coastal areas, and cattle are bred.There has been an increase in viticulture, and fishing andshipbuilding
are other activities. Salt is obtained fromseawater at Piran and Portoroz in Slovenia. Rasa, in Croatia, isan important site for the mining of high-quality anthracitecoal; and bauxite, building
stone, and quartz are alsoextracted.  Istria's most important town and harbour is Pula,which has a well-preserved Roman amphitheatre. Opatija andBrioni are best known as seaside resorts.Istria
derived its name from the ancient Illyrian tribe of theHistri and was subdued by Rome in 177 BC after two wars. Underthe emperor Augustus most of the peninsula became part of Italy.Slavic peoples
began settling there in the 7th century AD. Itwas successively under the control of diverse Mediterraneanpowers until 1797, when the peninsula came under the rule ofAustria, which developed Trieste
as a port. By this time thepopulation  consisted of Italians and Austrians in the coastaltowns and Slavic farmers in the rural interior. After World WarI, Italy forcibly seized the peninsula from
Austria in 1919 andafterward tried to Italianize the population. But, followingItaly's defeat in World War II, Yugoslavia occupied most ofIstria in 1947. The peninsula's northwestern section,
aroundTrieste, was finally divided between Italy and Yugoslavia in1954 after decades of diplomatic wrangling and periodicpolitical crises. Istria quietly became part of Croatia andSlovenia in 1991
when those states became independent nations.Italian minorities remain in both the Slovene and Croatianparts.Copyright (c) 1996 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All RightsReserved
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DATE 14 MAR 1999