Villas in Istria, Croatia
Villas, dilapidated cottages, crumbling farmhouses; all are changing hands, as British buyers compete with returning Croatians to own their own piece of the Istrian idyll. The Croatian diaspora - some 4.5 million, the same number as the country's indigenous population - stretches as far as Canada and Australia, and many Istrians are now returning to set up businesses in the tourism sector. "It is wonderful to be home," says Dorina Vlakancic, who has returned with her husband after 15 years in the UK.
Their newly built villa, Casteletto Parenzana, was only finished in June and they have already had their first guests. "There is nowhere else in Europe so peaceful," says Dorina. "At night we just sit out and watch the stars; although we have been back from England for some time, we still can't believe the night skies."
Evenings at Parenzana are glorious; the heat of the day fades, the sun slips slowly behind khaki hills and the sky floods fuschia pink. Istrian earth is lush and fertile, and fields of crops stretch between clusters of toffee-coloured cottages. Silent hamlets freckle the countryside; some have only one or two inhabitants, elderly now, sons and lovers long gone, some to the war, some to work on the busy coastal strip.
Families who remain make a living from the earth; across the road from Parenzana, a man ploughed his fields while his wife and mother leant together on a battered pitchfork, silently watching the earth turn beneath the fading sun. Istria is indeed a place to enjoy.
Home: Property in Croatia Property in Istria Property
on sale at CroatiaProperties.Biz