Just returned from Umag, a small town of Venetian origin on the western coast of Istria, where I went to a press conference organized by environmental activists concerned with the Adriatic and the Mediterranean as a whole. This was my second or third visit since I moved to Motovun five years ago. Although I had little time for sightseeing, I can still say that Umag is simply revolting. The few architectural gems that miraculously remain standing are obliterated by so much crap that one feels like pinching oneself every few seconds. Is this a nightmare of some kind? Could something like this be for real? On top of so many architectural horrors, the traffic in town is nothing less than bizarre. As everywhere else on the peninsula, cars rule. There are ugly tin cans wherever one looks. But there is one good thing that came out of today’s visit: I saw enough of Umag to buttress my old decision to see as little of Istria as possible.

Addendum (September 18, 2016)

My friends are often surprised by my unwillingness to leave Motovun even for a short ride to the coast. Or anyplace else in Istria, for that matter. To their amazement, nothing attracts me, not even good food! On rare occasion, though, I explain to them my loathing of travel across the peninsula. Minus the remaining traces of Venetian architecture and urbanism, everything in sight is simply atrocious. Well, revolting. But there is one law that architecture and urbanism follow without fail: the newer, the worse. The larger the town, the more obvious the law, as well. Which is why I do my best never to set my foot in Poreč, Buzet, Pazin, Labin, or Pula. This is where everything built after Croatia’s independence is hard to miss, including new roads and even highways. Revolting to boot. Not surprisingly, cars rule everywhere. The ugly tin cans are at the very core of this failing civilization. Alas, not even Istria at its periphery is spared!