Both surnames Sponza and Milotich are typically Istrian surnames from Rovigno (not Rivigno), currently Croatian Republic. Most people from the area emigrated in the late 1940s once the region was given to (what was at the time) Yugoslavia. You can find pictures of some Sponza here http://www.ipac ...

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Thank you so much! I gave it up for awhile, and didn't get any notifications of responses. I decided to look into it again and here are your replies. I am going to dig into them right now. I was speaking to a Croatian law firm and they said I need to find some proof if residency, but my ...

btw- the facebook page I posted also has links to the radio program that they still do in dialect in the region. Most days at 4pm local time on Radio Pula, this is the version for the radio of Rovigno. It sounds like a drunk venetian sailor with cotton wool in his mouth to the rest of the world, but ...

now it's me not receiving notifications....well, I've been trawling through the church records to find my huband's ancestors (who started in Rovigno then moved to Orsera and are now in Pula. Except for us who are in London ;-) and both the surnames pop up a million times. It'd be great fun I think ...

this gives you a glimpse at what some Prodan were doing in 1928 in Pinguente and how much taxes they were paying to the state ;-) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yYrWtjaMdc0C&pg=PR1&dq=elenco+contribuenti+privati+istria&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwif6cKKk6rrAhWKSsAKHZCXDDYQ6AEwAXoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q ...

you can try to see if these Prodan belong to the same family: https://prodantartufi.hr/en/o-nama/ or you can just call the local council https://www.istra-istria.hr/index.php?id=2600 to see if there is an active Comunita' degli Italiani, the website I saw online appears to be useless

Alternatively ...

Hi! as you know, that part of Italy became Yugoslavia and then Croatia, and Pinguente is now called Buzet. It's a lovely little village on a hill, now some of the properties abandoned by the italians with the 'esodo' have been re-populated and refurbished and many transformed into holiday lets.
You ...

Massarotto was also the surname of one of the leaders of the Resistance in Rovinj after september the 8th 1943. Giusto Massarotto was with Pino Budicin, I'm not sure if you've got any connection (but there were 48 families registered with this surname in Rovinj in 1945, so quite a tangle! and as you ...

Because of the pandemic I don’t think we’ll be able to go to Istria soon, but you can ask your dad if he remembers where he lived. As the first opportunity I can go and take pictures of his house, and then send them to you (then YOU judge if it’s ok to share. Some of the places have been used as ...

Last one, and then I think you’ll have enough to dig for the rest of the decade: http://www.istrianet.org/istria/genealogy/town/rovigno/index.htm
I’m afraid it’s in Italian but basically says the family goes back to 1415, it was one the town reps (important families) and you can still find some ...

I’ve done a quick search in one of the docs I’ve downloaded recently, and you’ll be pleased to know that both Malusa’ and Quarantotto we’re in the register of residents in Rovigno in 1595. Malusa also appears in a tax census in Orsera in 1668, clearly big families were at some point forced to spread ...

Sorry forgot to say that Quarantotto also appears on the list. One was a shop owner but did much better than the average according to the tax return!

I totally understand your dad but you should tell him that Istria is still a wonderful region. More often than not, if we go around and my husband ...

Hi, my husband is from the region and your family appears in tons and tons of records that I’m bumping into (I’m also doing a bit of research into his history. Easier because they didn’t emigrate. But WE emigrated together :-) anyway, if the spelling is Malusa’ (with the accent) they were in Rovigno ...