Display of bread

Ostaci antičke uljare u Červaru
Typical istrian batches

Display of olive oil

Orka, žara – posuda za skladištenje maslinovog ulja

Oil storage & production process


Display of vine

Bordoška juha
Istarska supa

The Bordeaux mixture and
The Istrian soup

The Konobon Gallery

Story of bread, olive oil and wine

Display of bread
Grain farming is closely linked to the evolution of civilisation. It was a long way from corn to bread – it took almost 10000 years to make bread out of a corn, and the story about bread itself is almost 5000 years old. In the beginning it did not contain any fermenting agent. It was the Egyptians who used yeast to make bread as we know it today. In Roman times the scent of bread spread all over the world. The culture of bread making survived until the present day. Numerous exhibits show the traditional way of making bread and a special place in the photos is given to Istrian bread ovens that were, up until not to long ago, an important meeting point and crucial for socialization in this rural ambience.

Display of olive oil
Olive is a plant whose history is interlinked with the culture of Mediterranean civilisations for about seven thousand years. The farming started in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and with the spreading of antique civilisations it came to Istria and the fertile red soil around the Baredine cave. Not far from here, on the sea coast, close to Červar and Lorun, a commercial complex was discovered that consisted of an oil mill and ceramic products from the 1st and 2nd century. In that antique site amphorae of characteristic shapes (type Dressel 6 B) were produced, which were used for the transport of olive oil and wine. They were discovered all over the Mediterranean. The Romans brought the production of olive oil to perfection. This process, used up until recently, is depicted through exhibits in the Konobon-gallery. After you've seen the old presses and familiarized yourself with the traditional process of making olive oil, the story of oil from „Istrian amphorae“ continues with the degustation of first-class extra vergine olive oil accompanied by the scent of fresh homemade bread.

Display of vine
Wine and grape vine are the core elements of the Istrian lifestyle. At several locations in the vicinity of the Baredine cave a couple of inscriptions were discovered, which witness that in this area during the 1st and 2nd century as well as later and in the Medieval period wine production was pretty developed. Malvazija and Teran and several other types of white and red wine make Istria a recognizable wine-growing area.
In the ambience of the Konobon gallery sorrounded by pictoresque vineyards there is an exhibition showing traditional techniques of grape processing and vine production including interesting examples of presses, barrels, tools and various patents used to protect grape vine from phylloxera and downy mildew.

Traditional olive oil production process

Olives were primarily used as food and main ingredient of scented oils, medicine, liniments, sirups and other ready meals. Garum is one the most famous among them.

The traditional process called tiještenje developed during the Roman empire and it is being used even today. After cleaning and washing the olives they are placed under a grinding machine made of stone (torač), which is used to squeeze the olives. The mixture is then placed into a press to produce olive oil.

Istrian soup

It was called soup, not potage, but an Istrian gastronomic delicacy. The ingredients are: red wine, bread, olive oil, sugar and pepper. Toasted bread is soaked with olive oil and dipped into red wine with a little sugar and pepper. It is served in a traditional Istrian jar (bukaleta). You can eat and drink it at the same time and it was a very important snack, especially during cold fall and winter days. It was also known to antique mediterranean people, while in Istria it is not only living in the memory of the local people but has also survived as a gastronomic delicacy. Istrian soup combines wine, bread and olive oil – groceries that were the basis of Mediterranean life.

In Istria people say: „The soup drank the wine and made me a little drunk“

A jug used for olive oil storage

The jugs used for olive oil storage were called žara. They were made out of ceramics and in most cases they had the manufacturer's stamp or inscription. The displayed jug had a capacity of 1000 l and the manufacturer's stamp says: Giuseppe Ricceri Strada del Chianti. Analysis showed that it was manufactured in Toscana (Italy) 200 years ago.

It is interesting how it got to the village of Nova Vas. Before the invention of the railway caravan routes were the main location for trade. One of these roads led from Italy towards Rijeka and passed through North-Istria. A family living on the Ćićarija-mountain bought the jug from a merchant and later when a girl from the same family got married it was gifted as dower. Unlike the Toscana where it was used to keep oil, in the Ćićarija-region where there are no olives it was used to hold drinkable water.

The Bordeaux mixture

Famous for its wine, Bordeaux was even more famous for its mush, which was the only remedy to fight mildew up until recently. Invented by chemist Ulysse Gayon and botanist Alexis Millardet in 1880 it is still being used today. It is a copper sulfate mixture which is neutralized by lime and water. This fungicide was, due to its low toxicity, permitted in organic agriculture with a maximum limited amount of 6 kg copper per hectare/year.

Typical istrian batches







Until recently in the village Magrini (next to Nova Vas) was a batch (furnace for bread) that was used in all seven families. Families were exchanged in the baking of bread, and with a system of borrowing and returning every day they were enjoying a piece of fresh bread.

Legal notice

Tractor Story & Konobon-Gallery
(within the Baredine-Cave complex)
Tarska 14
52446 Nova Vas
Poreč
Croatia

Contact:
Phone: +385 (0) 421 333
Mobile: +385 (0) 98 224 350
E-mail: info@baredine.com
Web: www.traktorstory.com // www.baredine.com

Authors of the biography:
Tihana Bašić, Sergio Gobo, Renco Kosinožić, Fabio Moze, Silvio Legović, Manuel Paljuh, Vinko Počanić, Igor Rimanić

Authors of the text:
Marino Baldini, Albert Ćosić, Slobodan Dević, Silvio Legović, Lara Musizza, Igor Rimanić

Donors for the collection:
Marino Baldini, Anđelo Brčić, Ivo Jerković, Judita Legović, Silvio Katarinčić, Dario Kocijančić, Luciano Legović, Damir Lukež, Loredana Musizza, Vittorio Okmaca, Dezi Okmaca, Poljoprivredni institut Poreč, Drago Radolović, Rino Rojac, Refik Saliji – Fiko, Josip Slavčić, Marino Šimonović, Darko Štifanić, Sonja Vojinović, Enrico Zorzan, Drago Žužić

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