Terra Gothica Incognita: Third consultative workshop held

Within the INTERREG project Terra Gothica Incognita, the third joint consultative workshop for various interest groups and stakeholders was held on 1 October 2025 at the House of Frescoes in Draguć, with the aim of further developing and reflecting on cultural tourism in the new Croatian–Slovenian cross-border destination.

Experts, representatives of public institutions, local stakeholders and tourism professionals from Slovenia and Croatia were presented with the resource base for the development of new tourism products in the project area. Through an analysis of existing assets, participants discussed infrastructure challenges in positioning the destination towards target groups, its capacity in relation to sustainable development, with a particular focus on human resources and the education of stakeholders who must act as drivers of both economic and cultural development.

The workshop was opened by Gracijan Kešac, Director of the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria, which includes the House of Frescoes in Draguć, and Elvis Šterpin, Mayor of the Municipality of Cerovlje. This was followed by a brief presentation of the project objectives by project manager Renato Stanković (City of Kastav), after which Sunčica Mustač, Head of the House of Frescoes, addressed the participants. Experts Jelena Berečić and Marko Koščak then delivered presentations focused on potential itineraries for the new cultural tourism destination, which sparked a joint discussion on the tourism offer and the integration of the area into a functional whole that destination management companies can easily market for organised group arrivals from various target segments.

The workshop concluded with the announcement of upcoming project activities, including the fourth consultative workshop to be held on 14 October in Prem, Slovenia. At the end, participants had the opportunity to visit, under the guidance of Sunčica Mustač, the Church of St Roch and the cemetery church of St Elisha in Draguć, both known for their medieval frescoes.

The Terra Gothica Incognita project continues to develop as a platform for cross-border cooperation, valorisation of cultural heritage and the creation of a sustainable tourism offer based on the identity of the region.

Source / photo: UHPA

The project is co-financed by the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia