After an intense week, filled with emotions and encounters, the port of Sète lowered the sails of another unforgettable edition of the international festival of maritime tradition "Escale à Sète", at which from March 31 to April 6, Istria was presented with a successful program from "Batana to Tartana". With numerous magnificent sailing ships and crews from 15 countries arriving from all over the world, as well as a program on the coast and at sea, this event delighted more than 350,000 visitors who, thanks to the Cronaves association from Split, ŠRD Mandrač-Tivoli from Pula and the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" from Rovinj-Rovigno, had the opportunity to get to know Istria and its maritime tradition.

A small flat-bottomed Rovinj boat, the batana "Regina", winner of many traditional boat regattas and one of 10 batanas cared for by the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana", set off on its journey to distant France. Although it did not touch the sea of ​​the port of Sète due to strong winds, as a symbol of Rovinj it "sailed" with its lugsail through the crowd of visitors of all generations who paid it a lot of attention. Equal attention was also drawn to the last existing tartana in the Mediterranean, whose crew sailed from Pula to Sète, led by owner Zoran Todić, to present a powerful open-sea sailing ship dating back to 1927. They were joined by colleagues from Fažana led by Lučan Sošić, who connects the two crews at regattas and festivals. Tartanas were once the most widespread ships in the Mediterranean, and this carefully restored example was intended for trade and transport along the coast. Its deck is 16 m long, its mast is 20 m high, and it is adorned with six sails - three jibs, a Latin, a jib and a topsail.

Given that the festival is designed according to the principle of villages that gather participants from the same country, it can be said that the Croatian Village, which, in addition to Cronaves and Istrians, also included Dalmatian colleagues from the associations Palagruza from Komiža and Kanata from Zadar, had a privileged location. Namely, it was located right next to the festival's attraction, Galeón Andalucía, a life-size replica of a 17th-century Spanish galleon with an impressive 49-meter deck, designed and built in 2010 by the Nao Victoria Foundation.

Despite the strong wind that hindered the sailing and hoisting of the sails, both the "Regina" and "Tartana" as well as the Cronaves stand were small stages on which, along with demonstrations and socializing, the richness of Croatian maritime heritage was shown, which especially shone during Croatian Day. On Wednesday, April 1, the festival delegation led by director Wolfgang Idiri and the first secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in France Lada Muraj visited the Croatian Village and thanked for the great contribution to the quality of the fair in all the years so far, which has even more strongly connected the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, that is, communities twinned by love and respect for the sea. The Croatian delegation was equally proud of participating in the grand parade of delegations from 15 countries through the streets of Sète, in which, along with the flags of all the countries that usually decorated the bridges of the city's canals, the Croatian flag also flew.

While the interior of the Cronaves stand offered the opportunity to view the photographic exhibition "Croatia - Homeland of the Sea" by Andrina Luić, Dubravka Pajk, Boško Lučev and Vislav Torre and to study the models of batana and tartana by the legend of Croatian ship modeling Luciano Keber, the outdoor area was filled with everyday programs. The famous Istrian chef David Skoko prepared with great gusto under the French sky characteristic Istrian dishes that were served on the deck of the "Tartana", as well as Istrian prosciutto and cheese sprinkled with golden drops of Istrian virgin olive oil. The Rovinj part of the team was in charge of the sweet flavors of Istria, so the members of the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana" Dolores Smoljan and Maja Toplak Farago, despite struggling with the strong wind that hindered the preparation of the Rovinj fijoki, managed to show visitors how this simple, crispy dessert is made, prepare traditional Easter snacks and demonstrate how to decorate Easter eggs. A particularly touching moment was when, wrapped in traditional Rovinj scarves, they walked along the two-kilometer-long Algerian coast and shared their warmth and hospitality with the Festival participants, spreading precisely the values ​​symbolized by the Rovinj traditional boat, with the most delicious Rovinj fritters (fritulas).

Ennio Cherin, president of the Association-Associazione "Kuća o batana-Casa della batana" who was later replaced by Roberto Zaharija, led the Rovinj delegation and actively participated in the programs of the Istrian performance, but also of the entire Festival. He demonstrated to interested visitors, but also to colleagues, how to make longlines and other fishing and nautical skills, and a special attraction was the raising and lowering of the main sail of the batana "Regina". It was the most striking decoration of the stand and a real attraction for children who made a series of small cardboard batanas in the workshops and took them home as a souvenir. As a member of the Tartana-Batana team, Ennio Cherin also tried his hand at the exciting Festival competitions that took place in one of the numerous canals with the cheering of an enthusiastic audience. After showing off their muscle strength in tug-of-war and rowing, winning second place in both categories, the team members headed to the fish market to explore the offerings and buy fish, which they then prepared at the Croatian stand in the traditional ways of their localities.

About the visit to Sète, Ennio Cherin says: "Given that the last time we visited a major international festival of maritime tradition on this scale was back in 2008 in Brest, and that all festivals have progressed and grown in terms of organization and content, when leaving for Sète I wondered if we were up to the task, but it was on this impressive maritime stage that I realized how big we actually are in our smallness. We truly have a lot to show and we should be proud of our small town whose tradition we have preserved and which we will, I hope, present even more diversely on similar occasions in the future. The interaction with visitors was interesting, to whom we showed valuable reasons to visit our Rovinj, but equally pleasant and useful were the socializing with both our local colleagues from Istria and Dalmatia and with those from other countries whom we met thanks to this Festival. Special thanks go to our French friends from Catalonia with whom we had an unforgettable experience of sailing together through the port of Sète on their traditional boat".

The trademark of the "Escale à Sète" Festival is certainly the music that echoed from all sides throughout the 7 days of the event. Among the 50 international music groups, the Rovinj bitinadas were among the main protagonists thanks to Alessio Giuricin and Ester Melchiorre, musicologists, researchers and musicians. In addition to the Rovinj song from the loudspeakers bringing a touch of Rovinj, they also held a workshop dedicated to singing bitinadas at the Croatian stand together with guests from the Italian Community of Koper, whose mandolin performance brightened up the Croatian Day.

The bitinada workshop was an intense and emotional moment that united people through song and highlighted the value of hospitality and the preservation of precious musical heritage, as well as the opportunity to present a valuable gift from the Italian Community “Pino Budicin” - the SAC-KUD “Marco Garbin” sound recording and the books “ʃi bitinàde” by Vlado Benussi and “Li àrie da nuóto” by Libero Benussi. Like the other members of Batana's team, both Alessio and Ester joined their dear colleagues from the Croatian Tourist Board Leonardo Müller and Sarah Kadhmi in communicating and interacting with numerous visitors by sharing promotional materials from the Ecomuseum-Ecomuseo "Batana", the Rovinj Tourist Board and the Maistra Hotel, and participating in workshops while Alessio Sponza and Silvija Jacić followed and conveyed the unique atmosphere of the Festival and the Istrian performance.

In conclusion, regarding the performance of the Ecomuseum "Batana" at the "Escale à Sète 2026" Festival, the director of the "House of Batana" Institution Nives Giuricin says: "We brought not only our boat to Sète, but also our soul: our traditions, ancient gestures, the scents of the sea and the timeless beauty of our city, the pearl of the Adriatic. I would like to thank our tireless members, led by President Ennio Cherino and Jasna Bešker as support in Rovinj, for successfully and wholeheartedly telling the audience at "Escale à Sète" the journey "From batana to tartana", side by side with our friends from Pula. It is time to preserve what we have experienced and turn it into new energy in order to prepare for the next great encounter with the world. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported us, our partners the Cronaves Association, SRD Mandrač-Tivoli, the City of Rovinj - Città di Rovigno, Maistra d.d., the Tourist Board of our City, the Italian Community "Pino Budicin", and to the host of the Croatian village, Marko Čubrić, the media and visitors. We are moving forward with full force towards a year full of projects and challenges."