Umago
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Umag (; ; ) is a coastal town in
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. Its
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
is St. Peregrine.


Geography

It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia.


Demographics

According to the 2021 census, its population was 12,699 with 6,751 living in the city proper. Umag had a population of 7,281, with a total municipal population of 13,467 according to the 2011 census. Like many other towns in
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
, Umag has a multi-ethnic population.
Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
, because of the exodus of many Italians after the Second World War, are nowadays an absolute majority with 59.6%;
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
18.3%,
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
3.8%,
Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...
2.2%,
Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
1.7%,
Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
1.3% and those regionally declared (as Istrians) make up the final 1.57%. However, according to the 1921 census, 100% of the population spoke
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
. This does not mean that all residents were ethnic Italians at the time. Croatians also used Italian as their primary language in official contexts.


Settlements

The list of settlements in the Municipality of Umag. * Babići / Babici * Bašanija / Bassania * Crveni Vrh / Monterosso * Čepljani / Ceppiani * Đuba / Giubba * Finida / Finida * Juricani / Giurizzani * Katoro / Cattoro * Kmeti / Metti * Križine / Cresine * Lovrečica / San Lorenzo * Materada / Matterada * Monterol / Monterol *
Murine The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. Members of this subfamily are called murines. In terms of species richness, this subfamily is larger than all mammal families excep ...
/ Morino * Petrovija / Petrovia * Savudrija / Salvore * Seget / Seghetto * Sveta Marija na Krasu / Madonna del Carso *Umag / Umago * Valica / Valizza * Vardica / Vardizza * Vilanija / Villania * Zambratija / Zambrattia


Language

Although though the
Government of the Republic of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...
does not guarantee official Croatian-Italian bilinguialism, the statute of Umag itself does. Preserving traditional Italian place names and assigning street names to Italian historical figures is legally mandated and carried out.


History

Umag was mentioned for the first time in the 7th century by an anonymous citizen from
Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
, but it already existed in Roman times. Proof of this is found in the numerous remains of Roman villas, the so-called
villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
uncovered all along the coast. The town's history is closely linked to the settlement of Sipar, whose ruins can be found on a narrow cape four kilometres north of Umag. In the 9th century, the fortified settlement of Sipar was devastated by invaders, the Neretva pirates. However, after this unfortunate incident Umag grew in significance thanks also to its location, a small islet separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. It was actually this location that safeguarded the settlement from the continuous invasions down through the centuries. The Roman period of relative prosperity was interspersed with one of insecurity caused primarily by frequent invasions, outbreaks of plague, cholera, and malaria. The number of its inhabitants declined rapidly. Umag became part of the reigns of
Odoacer Odoacer ( – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer' ...
,
Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name w ...
, and was also ruled by the Langobards. From the 6th to the 8th centuries it fell under Byzantine dominion, followed by the rule of the Lombards in 751 and Francs in 774. The subsequent period was marked by insecurity and frequent changes of government ranging from the Patriarchs of Grado and
Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...
to the Bishops of
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
. However, the increasingly powerful Venetian Republic imposed its rule over Istria, forcing Umag and other western Istrian towns to swear loyalty to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. In fact, in 1269, the Commune of Umag swore loyalty to Venice which from that time on 1797 was to appoint governors of Umag from among its nobility. This period was by no means a peaceful one. Century-old clashes with
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
brought about more destruction and looting. In 1370 the Genoese navy attacked Umag, destroying the town's archive. The outbreaks of plague that decimated the inhabitants forced the Venetian authorities to consider colonising the area with new settlers, mainly from the territories threatened by Turkish invasions. The harbour of Umag was utilised for loading agricultural surplus from the hinterland. Up to the collapse of Venice Umag had lived like other Istrian towns. Its communal arrangement was guaranteed by Statute from 1541. With the fall of the
Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
, Umag, like the entire eastern Adriatic coast, came under the rule of France until 1815 when it passed over to Austria until 1918. With the end of World War I Istria became part of Italy. After World War II, the flaring up of the Trieste crises resulted in the establishment of the
Free Territory of Trieste The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between Italy and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under United Nations Security Council Resolution 16, direct responsibility of ...
, while Umag became part of Zone B governed by the Yugoslav Army, and eventually became part of
SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...
within
SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
in 1954. After Umag became part of Yugoslavia, there was an exodus of many Italians from the town, who, until then, had constituted the majority of its population. In 1993, with the establishment of the new local rule, Umag became an independent
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
, and, in 1997, was awarded the status of town (''grad'').


Economy

The natural features of the area have considerably influenced the development of the economy as a whole. The geographical location of Umag, in particular, has ensured an intensive and dynamic growth of the tourist industry after World War II, which has been expanding rapidly ever since. The closeness of big west European markets and the rise in standard of East European countries have both accounted for the expansion of this economic branch which is tightly linked to other economic resources in the region the most significant being agriculture. The best fertile soil and the vast arable land in the area have fostered the production of traditional Mediterranean crops present in the region for thousands of years, with particular emphasis on olive growing and wine grape growing. The latter accounts for a successful winemaking industry and the emerging in recent years of a number of highly renowned local wine makers that can be traced in the wine chart of Istria. Linked with agriculture is the rapidly expanding tourist branch agro-tourism which has not only enriched the tourist offer but is also committed to preserving the old-world values of the region. Apart from that, mention must be made of the " Podravka" food factory in Umag where huge quantities of tomatoes were processed. The factory was closed in 2023 which marked the end of tomato growing industry in this part of Istria. The food industry started in Umag in the early 20th century with the opening of the "Arrigoni" plant for packing fish and tomatoes and the building of a flour mill, the predecessor of today's bakery and biscuit factory. Today new factories have grown up in two industrial zones (Ungarija and Kravlji rt), which are provided with the necessary infrastructure continuously rebuilt and enlarged. The economic growth of Umag is based on the stimulation and support of small and medium-sized firms and the establishment of business zones. For that purpose, the town authorities have set apart 355,200.00 kuna for the programme aimed at stimulating the growth of agriculture and businesses for the year 2002. Besides, Umag is the founding member of the "Istarska razvojna agencija" IDA (Istrian Development Agency), with its seat in
Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...
.


Events

Umag hosts Sea Star Festival every May since 2017 The town hosts an annual ATP tennis tournament on clay courts.Tournament article on the ATP site
/ref>


References


External links

*
Umag official site

Official Tourist Board UmagMap of UmagFirst portal of Umag
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Croatia Populated coastal places in Croatia Populated places in Istria County Populated places in Croatia where Italian is an official language