On the stone facades of old buildings in Vodnjan, centuries of history intertwine, yet one layer of the past remains particularly striking and visible to every passerby. This is a unique phenomenon – graffiti created during and immediately after the Second World War. These inscriptions, written in red paint in the Italian language, represent one of the best-preserved and most numerous examples of such historical traces in all of Istria. Instead of history residing exclusively within the silence of archives and the sterility of museum display cases, in Vodnjan it lives on dilapidated facades, in quiet passages, and on squares, offering an authentic and unfiltered insight into the turbulent period of the mid-20th century. These anti-fascist, pro-Yugoslav, and communist slogans, although faded by the tooth of time, still resonate strongly today, turning the city's streets into unofficial monuments to the ideals, resistance, and voices of a bygone era.

Walls That Remember: An Open-Air Archive

The Vodnjan graffiti did not emerge spontaneously; their appearance can be traced through at least three key phases that reflect dramatic political and social changes. The first inscriptions appear during the war itself, as an act of resistance and defiance against the occupier. They were mostly written by young activists, both male and female, members of the resistance movement, who, under the cover of night, wrote messages of hope and struggle. Slogans like "Viva Tito," "W Tito," or symbols of the red star and the hammer and sickle conveyed the messages of the partisan movement and the anti-fascist front. The second wave came at the moment of liberation, celebrating the victory over fascism, while the third, and also the most intense phase, followed in the immediate post-war period, between 1945 and 1946. In this period, alongside the already mentioned slogans, messages expressing clear political demands, such as "Hoćemo Jugoslaviju" (We want Yugoslavia), also dominated, reflecting the complex post-war situation and the struggle for the annexation of Istria to the motherland. Today, these surviving graffiti form a unique corpus of texts and symbols in the public space, creating a specific landscape of memory that testifies to the ideological turmoil of that time. They are found everywhere – on prominent facades of old houses in the central streets, on squares, in hidden vaults, and on the very edges of the city, which confirms how comprehensive and systematic this practice was.

A Walk Through History, Memory, and Anti-fascism

To preserve this priceless, yet often neglected, heritage from oblivion and bring it closer to the general public, the Tourist Board of the town of Vodnjan, in cooperation with the distinguished culturologist, dr. sc. Eric Ušić, organizes unique guided walks. Dr. Ušić, who holds a doctorate on the topic of political graffiti from the Second World War and the post-war period in Istria, provides participants with a deep insight into the context of these inscriptions through his years of research and passion for local history. These tours are not just mere sightseeing; they are an interactive journey into the past. Walking through the streets of Vodnjan, participants, together with the guide, discover, read, and interpret the graffiti on the spot. Each inscription becomes a starting point for a broader story about the political, cultural, and social history of Vodnjan and Istria. The tour sheds light on key events of the anti-fascist struggle, as well as the complex situation that followed the war, explaining the historical circumstances that led to the writing of such messages. The exploration of these traces goes beyond the story of the graffiti themselves – the walk becomes an encounter with a unique landscape of memory, where walls, streets, and spaces become living monuments and reminders of the ideals, struggles, and authentic voices of the past. In addition to the graffiti, attention is also paid to other elements of memory in the city's space, such as memorial plaques commemorating important events and figures, like the one in 16th of January Street, which commemorates the first victims of fascism in Istria, who perished back in 1920.

Special Tour in English

Due to the exceptional interest that these guided walks regularly generate among the local audience, the Tourist Board of the town of Vodnjan has decided to present this rich history to foreign visitors as well. Therefore, on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, the first such thematic walk will be held entirely in English. This is an excellent opportunity for tourists and all those who do not speak Croatian to get to know this important segment of local and regional history in a unique way. The tour is designed to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the events that shaped this region, even for those encountering the history of Istria for the first time. The guided walk is scheduled to start at 10 a.m., and the gathering point for all interested participants is in front of the Tourist Board's information office, located on Narodni trg (People's Square) in Vodnjan. Over approximately an hour and a half, the duration of the tour, participants will visit key locations and discover why Vodnjan is called an "open-air gallery" and how its walls still tell a story that is eighty years old today.