We found the location by accident, as serendipitous things usually happen. These trees stand beside a centuries-old church where the musician Toni Bruna used to go throughout his childhood and teenagehood. "Not to pray," he said, but to enjoy the energy and the view. From there we can see the beginning of Istria, his grandparents' land, which is now devided between Croatia and Slovenia, from what I understand. His family had to flee their original homegrounds to Trieste, Italy. Trieste itself has been fought over many times as well, at some point being a part of Austria. In this region it seems everyone has fled a war or two, something which is embeded in the culture and in the cool air.
Toni Bruna composes in Triestino, the dialect he was raised speaking. From what he told me, there are increasingly fewer people learning this dying language. It is a shame that, all over the world, languages are dying fast with each new generation. Losing a language also means the loss of a significant wealth of culture.
