Istria (Croatian and Slovenian: Istra, Venetian and Italian: Istria), formerly Histria (Latin), is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner.

The geographical features of Istria include the Učka mountain range (Monte Maggiore) in the east, the rivers Dragonja, Mirna, Pazinčica and Raša, and the Lim bay. When these definitions are applied, Istria lies in three countries: Croatia, Slovenia and Italy. The largest portion, Croatian Istria, is further divided into two counties. The largest portion is Istria county in western Croatia. Important towns in Istria county include Pula (Pola), Poreč (Parenzo), Rovinj (Rovigno), Pazin (Pisino), Labin (Albona), Umag (Umago), Motovun (Montona), Buzet (Pinguente) and Buje (Buie), as well as smaller towns of Višnjan (Visignano), Roč (Rozzo), and Hum (Colmo). A small slice in the north, including the coastal towns of Izola (Isola), Piran (Pirano), Portorož (Portorose) and Koper (Capodistria) lies in Slovenia, and is commonly known as Slovenian Istria (Slovenska Istra), while a tiny region encompassing the town of Muggia (Slovenian Milje) belongs to Italy and is known as Italian Istria.

The small town of Peroj, although not large by size, has had a unique history which exemplifies the multi-ethnic complexity of the history of the region.

History

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Early history
One theory is that the name is derived from the Illyrian tribe of the Histri, which Strabo refers to as living in the region. They Histri might as well be a venetian tribe from the northern adriatic area. The Romans described the Histri as a fierce tribe of pirates, protected by the difficult navigation of their rocky coasts. It took two military campaigns for the Romans to finally subdue them in 177 BCE. The region was then called toegether with the ventian part the X. roman region of "Venetia et Histria". Per ancient definition the north-eastern border of Italy. Dante Alighieri refers to it as well.

Some scholars speculate that the names Histri and Istria are related to the Latin name Hister, or Danube. Ancient folktales reported—inaccurately—that the Danube split in two or "bifurcated" and came to the sea near Trieste as well as at the Black Sea. The story of the "Bifurcation of the Danube" is part of the Argonaut legend.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was pillaged by the Goths, the Lombards, annexed to the Frankish kingdom by Pippin III in 789, and then successively controlled by the dukes of Carinthia, Merano, Bavaria and by the patriarch of Aquileia, before it became the territory of the Republic of Venice in 1267.

Venetian rule, the Holy Roman Empire, and incorporation into the Austrian Empire
Venetian rule left a strong mark on the region, one that can still be seen today. The Inner Istrian part around Mitterburg-Pisino, today Pazin, was held for centuries by the Holy Roman Empire. The venetian part of the peninsula passed to it in 1797 with the Treaty of Campo Formio. The Holy Roman Empire ended with...