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A brief history of
Vodnjan (Dignano)
It is likely that people have lived in the Vodnjan area for thirty to
forty thousand years. Traces of life such as abandoned buildings or
fortresses have existed for four to five thousand years from the time when
people left rural shelters and started to build organised settlements with
dry walled foundations. Prehistoric buildings have been discovered at
Vodnjan. When the Romans occupied and started developing Istria in 177 BC
they made tools and developed agriculture, industry and trading. Sacred
statues and new settlements were placed above the foundations of the older
settlements.
In southern Istria, Vodnjan is like a natural gate from East to West.
It changed political rulers as follows: Romans, Goths, Byzantine, Franks,
Aquiline Patriarchs, Venetian, French, Austrian, Italians, and finally the
Croatians. During this changing and period of changes and conquests,
lasting from the 10th to the 17th century, various plagues and epidemics
occurred which Vodnjan escaped, but several surrounding villages died out.
The Venetian rulers reported to the Senate in Venice several times
describing Vodnjan as "a thriving place and the most developed city
in Istria". Due to the ideal climate and economic prosperity, the
Venetian governors and bishops moved to Vodnjan. Hence, Vodnjan was the
principal city in southern Istria until 1856.
 The city is an amalgam of several rural village
settlements. Probably at the beginning of the 13th century six villages
came together due to the danger from invaders. Dice were tossed to
decide which village would form the centre and the die fell in favour of
Vodnjan. The people decided to settle around this nucleus which became
Stari Grad. This became modern Vodnjan whose symbol is a coat of arms
with a red cross on a white background and five jewels in a crown.
In 1212, Vodnjan became an independent parish by separating from Pula
with agreed adjoining boundaries. In 1393, Vodnjan and Pula reconciled
when the Roman and the Slavonic world became united. Because of this the
community life of the town was laid down in a statute that was rewritten
in 1492, and the surrounding villages came under the jurisdiction of the
parish. Vodnjan was placed under the control of Venice in 1331 and
because of continued danger remained so until the fall of the Venetian
empire in 1797. The town had a castle, a town hall, a manor house, a
moat and covered bridge, and a covered market place (loggia) for
licenced market traders.
This is where the interests of the Venetians, the Patriarchs of
Aquilea and the German landlords comes together. The town suffered badly
only once, in 1413, from an army raid by the Hungarians. Here was the
seat of territorial defence i.e., barracks for a thousand soldiers from
Vodnjan, Bale, Rovinj and Dvigrad. The Dalmatian refugees fleeing from
the Turks united with the German dukes that were defeated by the
garrison. However, in 1616 they settled close to Vodnjan and Pula. The
enemies suffered great losses, but managed to save their war trophies.
Vodnjan has been an independent community since 1991. Its
constitution incorporates Vodnjan, Galizana, Fazana and Peroj. It has
over 8000 inhabitants and has great prospects for future economic and
cultural development along with its neighbouring community of Bale
(Valle).
Officially, Christianity was brought to Istria in 45 A.D. by St.
Hermagore, the disciple of St. Mark the Evangelist. As a result of this
early Christian development, six old basilicas dating from the 5th to
the 8th century were incorporated into the foundations of what is now
Vodnjan. The churches in Galizana, Bale, Peroj, Fazana, and on the
islands of Brioni were also built at this time. In the above places
there were as many as 108 churches. There was also an incredible number
of sacred monuments.
The greatest number of sacred remains in the area today is in the
parish church of St. Blaise in Vodnjan. This church is 55.20 meters wide
and 32.60 meters long. The belfry is 60 meters high and took 40 years to
build (1760-1800) on the foundations of an old basilica. The church has
10 altars, 24 paint~ngs and 18 sculptures. In the old sacristy there is
a museum containing 730 exhibits dating from the year 400 AD to the 19th
century. This is a unique collection in this area thus is an essential
aid in understanding the history of the town and its vicinity.
Today, Vodnjan is important regionally as well as worldwide because
of the holy relics which are protected in its church. We find here 370
relics from 250 various saints. Amongst the relics there are three
undecayed bodies: that of St. Leon Bembo (1188 A.D.), St. John Olini
(1300 A.D.), St. Nicolosa Bursa (1512 A.D.), and the smaller remains of
St. Sebastian (282 A.D.) and St. Barbara (288 A.D.). Their bodies were
neither embalmed nor hermetically sealed. It is impossible to rationally
explain how these bodies were preserved. This collection of sacred
relics covers a time span of fifteen centuries. They come from various
parts of what was once the Roman Empire and represent the philosophical
and theological thought of today. A visit to Vodnjan is an excursion
into history and at the same time a look into the future. It shows how
people lived and allows us to ponder on what life could become.
Source:
- Marijan Jelenic, Ufficio Parocchiale di Dignano.
See also:
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