Istra.hr - official tourist website of Istria

Sissano is a picturesque village situated in southeastern Istria, whose narrow streets exhale Mediterranean spirit. Its foundation dates back to the beginning of the Roman conquest. The Romance dialect imprinted a tight seal to the place, a dialect that developed directly from Latin. It is called „istrioto“ and can still be heard on the „senti“, stone platforms rounding the main square of the village, where the elder part of the population use to gather, or on the „giardin“, close to the church, where the younger meet. One of the most typical songs says „Mi bevaravi quel vin de Sisan, magari col secio“ (I would drink Sisan’s wine, leastwise from the bucket) evoking the old costume of drinking wine from the bucket.

Clever inhabitants, a long time ago, started with something that finally ended up in a tradition: all the Saturdays of May, after the village fell asleep, the boys from Sissano brought a couple of flowers at the doors of the most pleasant and nice girls, while taking away something (from shutters to gates) from the garden of the most unkind ones. The following morning, the only left to do was to take a walk to the village square, where under the imposing sycamine (a kind of mulberry) the „Sissaners“ regained possession of their stuff.

The tradition is still alive, and the younger, conscious of this richness and uniqueness, decided to gather that incredibly valuable treasure represented by both the immaterial and the material culture of the village, inaugurating a fair. Sissano has always been linked to the sea and to the fields: it was connected to fish and boat as to olives, vines and livestock. The fair that will take place from 22nd to 24th of June will dedicate the Friday to the marine tradition, from repairing and caulking an old batana (a boat typical of Rovinj where the „istrioto“ is spoken as well), through the painting workshop for the smallest, ending with the fisherman's demonstration of how the nets are weaved, accompanied by the notes of the band „Batana“.

On Saturday it will be demostrated how a century old thresher and an old mill are working, followed by an animal fair, and along with other exhibitions, there will be held a presentation of the traditional costume. The Saturday will be prolonged deep in the night by the chords of the „Cocktails band“. The offer will be further enriched by Mr. Trapan, who will open his wine cellar to the curious in oenology, by the restaurant „Vela Nera“ and the tavern „Le Corte“ both offering typical dishes on promotional prices. The village will be liven up by numerous guests and exhibitors from Italy, Slovenia and Slavonia, invited to confirm that here lies an ancient multiculturalism that makes the region different. The accent will be put on the ecological production. 

The most exigent and curious are invited to attend lessons on the quality of the extra virgin olive oil and on the development of sustainable tourism. The fair is also an opportunity to visit, accompanied by a guide, the subterranean military complex in Monte Madonna, which will be opened for the weekend occasion. For the ones that want to pop over the sea, at the slopes of Monte Madonna and in a holm-oak wood unique on the Mediterranean, you can survey the ruins of a roman villa who once was reinforced on the edges by defensive towers. Close to it once was St. Stephen's church that became once a year a place of pilgrimage when people from Sissano went there in procession to light up a candle.

The fair simply aims to approach the population to their ancient roots, strengthening that tiny line that distinguishes a determined territory, as well as save from oblivion those riches and peculiarities from the story of Sissano, whose echo spreaded in the past regardless of limits and borders. We invite you then to reserve the end of June for visiting the fair of St. Felice and Fortunato where you will breathe the air of an atmosphere which is almost impossible to find elsewhere…

Info:

Udruga Agro Mladica Ližnjan, Zajednica Talijana Šišan, Udruga Magran Ližnjan
GSM: +385 99 736 6996, +385 99 210 8817 T./F.: +385 (0)52 574 608
sajam.sisan@gmail.com