JGKS 8 (2006), 133–152 133 Croatian Urban Life and Political Sociability in Istria from the 19th to the early 20th Century Vanni D’Alessio (Naples) In 19th century Istria, Italian language and Romance vernaculars enjoyed a hegemonic position in political and social interactions. This was due to the long lasting function of Italian and Venetian idioms for trade in the Adriatic, and to the official use of Italian in the territories of the former Venetian Republic. In the Austrian Littoral, while German was used in the military and overarching politi- cal realms, the social hegemony of Romance idioms over Slavic ones was sub- stantial in economy and politics at regional and local levels. The dominance of Romance idioms and the Italian social hegemony also fostered an Italian national identification among many Istrians, regardless of their mother tongue and ethnic origins, and especially so in urban areas. Who spoke Croatian in the Istrian urban settlements? It was much more un- usual to hear people speak Croatian language or dialect in the little towns of the western coast than it was in those of central Istria or in the fishing settlements along the Liburnic coast and of the islands of the Kvarner (Quarnero) gulf. Nationalization processes were far from clear, but from the northwestern to the southwestern side of the peninsula Italian speakers represented a strong majority; Slovenes prevailed on the north-northeastern side, and Croats in the central-east- ern regions and on the islands. Still, many areas, including the urban ones, were populated by bilinguals and people who could easily identify with either ethnic group. An urban upper class speaking Italian and Venetian lived and worked on the islands and on the eastern side of the peninsula. At the same time, there were workers, artisans, small traders and shopkeepers with a Slavic language as their mother tongue who lived in the urban areas of the western coast, but who pre- ferred to use the Venetian dialect in many social contexts. Some of them assimi- lated into the dominant Italian culture, more so than did the Slavs living in central and eastern Istria. Peasants, of either Slavic or Romance (or to some extent also mixed) mother tongue also lived in or nearby some Istrian towns in the central part of the penin- sula, like Žminj (Gimino), Buzet (Pinguente), Pazin (Pisino), Vodnjan (Dignano), Kanfanar (Canfanaro) and Buje (Buie). In these localities, the border between urban and rural areas was not as evident as in other towns. Peasants living in and around Pazin, Žminj, Kanfanar and Buzet generally had a Slavic mother tongue, while in Vodnjan and Buje the vast majority used a Romance mother tongue. Many priests also interacted in the Croatian language. Given their social and spiritual role, even some Italian and Romance mother tongue parish priests spoke the Slavic idiom used in the community. This happened in those rural places more excluded from Italian influences. During the second half of the 19th century, Croatian public urban culture developed in Istria alongside the dominant Italian