When you think of prosciutto, you probably think of Italy, but if you’ve ever spent any time in Croatia, then it’s likely you automatically link that word with Dalmatia – places like Drnis in particular. But what about Istria? The region is well known for its excellent cuisine, and Tinjan, an Istrian municipality, is now building its image on exactly what it does best – prosciutto. Grt acquainted with the up and coming Istrian Prosciutto House.
As Glas Istre/Mirjan Rimanic writes on the 10th of February, 2020, the Municipality of Tinjan is building its tourist image as the Municipality of Istrian prosciutto, with ISAP – the International Prosciutto Fair remaining the central event. Last summer, the first FIP - Istrian Prosciutto Festival was held, which produced excellent results, and these two events, one in the autumn and one in the summer, will be connected by the Istrian Prosciutto House.
”The idea of renovating the Istrian Prosciutto House was born about ten years ago, when it turned out that ISAP was heading in the right direction. This prompted us to think about bringing the prosciutto closer to guests throughout the year, not just during those three fair days,” says Goran Hrvatin of Tinjan.
The Istrian Prosciutto House is, according to the him, an endeavor to see Istrian prosciutto in Tinjan be offered to guests 365 days a year. Since the municipality had a building on the road that it rented to various tenants, hairdressers, and at one time there was a market in it, it was decided that the house would be renovated to become the Istrian Prosciutto House.
”To dedicate a house in the centre of Tinjan to prosciutto was a logical decision, says the Hrvatin, because Tinjan area has long been known for its prosciutto. The tradition of excellent prosciutto in this region has never been neglected and good prosciutto could always be obtained in Tinjan. This is how the prosciutto fair was first created.
The building that houses the Istrian Prosciutto House boasts 160 square metres of usable space. Of these, 80 square metres on the ground floor and there are as many upstairs. If the sanitary facilities and storage are added, the Istrian Prosciutto House will cover about 200 square metres. On the ground floor there will be a space for tasting and selling prosciutto, which will be primarily Istrian, but also others which have been exhibited at ISAP.
In addition to prosciutto, there will be other local and indigenous products such as cheese, olive oils and wine. A table in the shape of ham is already under construction and will soon be installed in that space,” says Hrvatin, expecting the ground floor of the Istrian Prosciutto House to be operational by June this year.
Arranging the floor, otherwise the prosciutto museum space, will take a little longer because of everything involved. Here, multimedia will present the public with traditional methods of the production of prosciutto, but also the more modern way of producing this prized delicacy of Istrian gastronomy.
”The renovation and equipping of the prosciutto museum will cost around 800,000 kuna, and the entire Istrian Prosciutto House will cost between 2.5 and 3 million kuna,” says Hrvatin, satisfied with the dynamics of the works on this important building for Tinjan.
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