Ćepić - Cepich (Felicia)
 Cities, Towns and Hamlets

 

Čepić

[by Marijan Milevoj and Daniel Nacinović; translated by Franko Pavicevac]

Do you like the fish from The Čepić Lake? What lake? The question is really weird but only for the youngest generation of Labinšćina, who might know, but only from the stories by its parents and grandparents, which once existed a large lake beneath the southem slopes of the Učka mountain. Čepić Lake was five kilometers long and three kilometers wide. It was somewhat larger in the wintertime, and smaller during the summer, due to lesser inflow from the surrounding slopes, and Boljunčica as well.

The River Raša originated from this lake. Maximal depth of the lake was five meters, and the fish was plentiful, mostly eels, but also carps, barbels and other freshwater fish. There were several boats in the village, rowboats, which were used by many families for springtime fishing. They used long-lines, machetes and nets, which were dragged by the boats in shallow swampy parts of the lake. Fish was sold in surrounding villages, and on Fridays in Labin as well according to Alfredo Načinović, a member of a reputed family of seamen from Čepić. His brothers, sailors and officers with the companies from Trieste and Rijeka, helped many natives of Čepić to commit themselves to the seamen's profession, during Italian times, which was then the best and most certain source of income.

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183.

183. Where did the name Čepić come from? Folk's legend says: "Local people here made their living mostly from cattle-breeding. They had many difficulties because all the water would simply vanish in a pit that they were unable to clog. After many attempts, even more advices and suggestions, they tried again. First they laid heavy logs over the pit, and then a hide flayed from a sacrificed ox. Over it they strewed a lot of earth. With the first torrent, a miracle happened. The water did not flow away anymore. Moreover, the fertile soil got flooded, so they were forced to think about another plan: How to retake the fields and meadows from the water?!" Therefore the outcome and the name Čepić (little plug)! This legend was told by the lawyer Mario Zustović, a native of Čepić.

183a. "Greetings from the Čepić Lake" sent from Kršan in 1901. 

183a.
In the beginning of this [20th] century, besides some rather infertile land and some livestock, there were not other resources and conditions for a decent living, so many natives of Čepić, began immigrating to United States. It was then, and later with the influx of seamen, that the strong community of the natives of Čepić was formed in New York, and nowadays it is quite certain, that this community outnumbers the population of Čepić itself.

The boat was not used for fishing only, but to feed the cattle as well. The fields were inadequate and often flooded by the rise of the malarious lake, cattle were fed with the fresh cane that grew in the middle of the lake. Without the boat, green cane could not be reached. By the middle of the past century, local population bred 128 cows, 250 sheep and goats, 74 pigs and 33 horses and donkeys. These figures probably did not much vary half a century later.

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184. In the beginning of 20th century Čepić had a postcard with greetings in three official languages Italian, Croatian and German. Church is on the left, and on the right is the store belonging to the best known merchant in Čepić, Fermeglia, a native of Roč.

Until the arrival of Italians, the Croatian school was active in the center of Čepić or Purgerija. The holy masses were said in Croatian language, even during Italian rule, because the priests were either Slovenians or Croats from Dalmatia. The wealthiest merchant was an Italian Fermeglia from Roč who arrived at Čepić in the beginning of the century [Ed. note: the precise date is 1871, provided by Sergio Fermeglia of New York City, NY, the grandson of Piero Fermeglia who emigrated from Roč/Rozzo]. The local Načinović family owned a store as well, but it soon failed because they were unable to collect the debts from local customers. A similar fate befell their flourmill as well, so they had the same option as many other natives of Čepić - the blue sea! Many sailors from Čepić sailed for America, where they deserted their ships and subsequently founded one of the first clubs for the Istrian immigrants: Istrian Seamen Benevolent Society.

Italians brought some other "novelties." By a decree, Čepić lost its centuries old name and became Felicia! That was in 1923. In the publication "Istarska riječ" (Istrian word), Jurina and Franina had a conversation as follows: "Jurina: All of a sudden he sees Mussolini. He knew him from before, when Mussolini rode to Rijeka and gave that speech. O my excellency! yelled the man from Rijeka when he saw him, I have a problem. I traveled all around the world, and I cannot find where Felicia is. Mussolini responded: For God 's sake, Felicia is in Istria. I believe that is what was once called Čepić...

Franina: What the hell! Felicia is Čepić? That lake there...

Jurina: The lake and the place. Both are named Felicia. When the man from Rijeka heard that, he collapsed like dead..."

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185. "Near Rakita the road to Kr[an and Labin was often closed due to the flooding. When the level of the lake grew, it would flood the road and we used to commute by boats toward Labin" remembers Ive Babic, a native of Čepić. 

The idea of regulating the river-basin of the river Raša was very old. The first feasibility study about the reclamation and drainage in the valley of the river Raša,was prepared jointly by the experts of Venice and Austria by the end of the eighteenth century .One century later in 1898 the plan of the engineer Wenedikter was accepted. According to this plan, the lake was supposed to be reduced by half of its area, in other words to 300 hectares. One year later, the Istrian parliament in Porec approved the project and the works began in 1902. The estuary of the river Raša was regulated. Six years later, works were interrupted after only a tenth of the expected operation was completed. The reason was very similar to today's reasons: all the designated funds were spent...

The continuation of the operation became realized with the arrival of the Italians in Istria. As early as 1920, The Consortium for the Reclamation of Raša was founded in Labin. Thorough preparations for a huge project were thus set in motion and, as result, as many as 2.489 hectares of fertile soil were supposed to be snatched away from the Čepić Lake and The Gulf of Krapan. The project about the reclamation of the whole valley and drainage of the Čepić Lake and the river-basin were completed in 1924, and it was accepted one year later. The project was done by the Regional Technical Office in Trieste, and its chief architect was engineer Di Drusco (Drušković), a native of Oprtalj.

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186. In the middle of this picture is the mayor of Labin, Giuseppe Lazzarini, during one of his visits to the workers who worked on the tunnel from Čepić to Plomin. [Ed. note: to his right is Romolo Fermeglia of Čepić]. The last blast was set off by Lazzarini, who deserves most of the credit for the drainage of the malarious lake.
Two options were considered. One option envisioned the regulation of the river Rasa on its entire length with alI its tributaries, and drainage of the lowest part of the lake through the draining canal Kostadina. Second option, which was eventually accepted, predicted among other things, a complete drainage of the Čepić Lake through a tunnel into the sea, in other words to the Bay of Plomin. On the southern part of the Čepić Lake, which was mosquitos' hotbed and a source of harmful environment, were many abysses which were subjects of fantastic stories, and it was believed that they prevented flooding of the surrounding fields. Austrian experts cleaned them and regulated some time ago, trying to find their flows, however unsuccessfully, so they quit their efforts.
187. A phase in the construction of the tunnel cepic/Plomin.

From 1924, until the beginning of the Second World War, the whole program was realized in four phases. The estuary of the river Raša was regulated, and also the flow of the rivulets Karbune and Boljunčica, the tunnel was cut through, the area of the former lake was meliorated, and the Gulf of Krapan was drained as well, and a new miners' settlement was about to be built in 1936. Among the experts who arrived in Labin, for the construction of the tunnel and for the realization of the entire program, was a1so a land surveyor Oscar Roncatti, a distinguished democrat, who later took part in the liberation movement. He arrived in Labin in 1928, when breaking of the tunnel began, the tunnel that will enable the drainage of the lake, but will also interrupt the life in a very busy hub - the port of Plomin. 

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188. The beginning of the tunnel and the end of the lake. The picture was taken right after the demolition of the dam, the last barrier in front of the newly built tunnel. It took piace on December 11, 1932. 

191. Works on the bottom of the drained Lake of Čepić, after the water retreated. The snapshot was most like1y taken by the engineer Giuseppe Drusco, the person responsib1e for the drainage of the lake. The photograph was developed by Tullio Battistella, a photographer in Labin. 

The construction of the outer canals began the same year, and the tunnel itself was cut into on August, 8th. The works took pIace on both ends simultaneously; and it was practically cut through on August 20, 1932, four years after the first pick-blow. The length of the tunnel is 4,550 meters, with an inclination of 3,345 meters per one kilometer. The area of its cross section is 11.32 square meters, enough for a normal walk. 

For the whole project of digging some 1,300 meters of canals and for the tunnel were used 199,074 working days. On average there were employed 90 workers daily, maximally 262. To many local poor families, the tunnel became the precious source of income, even before the drainage of the lake. Along with loca1 people, some Italian families were engaged as well, some of them remained here (Fadel, Zambon...). Due to the diversity of the terrain (Čepić-Kršan-Plomin), the constructors had to dea1 with alI types of Istrian soil - white, gray and red. They came across several caves, hollows long up to 30 meters, high up to 20 and up to seven meters wide. 

The material was moved out by a small train. The works were often hindered by the inflow of water, mostly on rainy days. Throughout the four years of the construction, works were performed in three shifts, being interrupted only five days a year on religious and state holidays. Water or clay would also interrupt the works for short periods.

All the difficulties were solved efficiently, owing to very skilIful builders, including some experienced former miners from the coal mines of Raša. 

Ceremonial festivities, in the presence of the representatives of the Italian regime and other dignitaries, took place on December 11, 1932. Precisely, at 1:24 P.M. the dam in front of the entrance to the tunnel was shattered, and the huge bulk of water began to move toward the tunnel. Twenty-six minutes later it reached the sea in the Gulf of Plomin, and three minutes later, the tunnel was full of water. For two days approximately, the tunnel worked with its full capacity, and after that the inflow of water began to subside gradually. In January 1933, practically all the water from the lake was gone.

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190. There were some fishermen on the Lake of Čepić, and the fish caught there would end in the dining-rooms in Labin. These fishermen lost their jobs with the drainage of the lake. The last fishermen were photographed on January 17, 1933. 

Ed. Note: Left to right: Giordano Gitz, Koštanto DeFranza, Ivan Honović and Milan Honovič (fragment).

The eldest residents of Čepić and vicinity remember the real "crop" of eels and other fish wriggling in the last pools left of the lake. In spite of heavy and frequent springtime rains, the lake was completely drained by the summer. After that the melioration of the state owned land took place along with construction of the farm-buildings. The commassation of the individual lands was performed as well. 

Eight months after the tunnel was completed, on the bottom of the former Cepic Lake, or Rasa Lake, as the Italians used to calI it, were running motorcycles and automobiles.

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189. The first automobile ride on the bottom of the drained lake. This triumphal car ride was soon followed by tractors and other machinery. 
Although the idea of the drainage of the lake, which will become an important food-supply for the partisans during the war, was alive since long ago, people of Cepic would give most credits for its realization to the count Lazzarini. He was, allegedly, a captain during the First World War, and was Mussolini's superior, who was then an anonymous corporal. Lazzarini, later did not spare any efforts to visit his former corporal in Rome with whom he was on most friendly terms, and he requested (presumably energetically) to drain the malarious lake. The people are convinced that without the count Cepic would still be the largest supplier of freshwater fish in the area.

Marijan Milevoj
(translated by Franko Pavicevac)

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192. To protect the fields from the forceful gusts of"bura," poplars were planted as early as 1935. In the same time began an intensive settling of Italian families. 

193. The entrance to Čepić from the direction of Sušnjevica.

Reprinted (with minor grammatical edits) from:

  • Marijan Milevoj, Postcards from Labin / Kartulini z Labinscini (Postcards from Labin), translation to English by Valter Kvalić, Naklada Matthias (Labin, 1997), p. 99-107. © All rights reserved.

  • Two modifcations (as noted) requested by Sergio Fermeglia of New York, NY 

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