Fažana entreprenurs of Vis origin

The numerous Marincovich family, that arrived from Komiža to Fažana by boat after the Battle of Vis in 1866, left an indelible imprint on the economic and social life of Fažana. In the second half of the 19th century this small fishing town flourished in all areas. With the arrival of Paul Kuplewieser on Brijuni in 1893 Fažana began to prosper as the main departure point for the islands. The Marincovich family contributed to the development of the town by opening restaurants, hotels, and factories, and by offering transportation by boat and coach. One of the any members of the Marincovich family who came to fažana was Giacomo (1840 – 1917) whose sons Innocente Massimo, Filippo Giacomo, Roberto, Rodolfo and Riccardo were born in the new homeland, all entrepreneurs who engaged in many business activities related to the increasingly popular toursm. In 1905 Giacomo, who was alerady referred to as Fažana hotelier, opened the vinegar and sweets factory. That same year Rudolf Marincovich, who was on the list of Pula citiziens, was mentioned as the owner of a pasta factory. The 1905 was also a significant year for faust Marincovich who opened the Hotel Zum neuer Molo (hotel and cafe by the new quay) in today’s Brijuni National Par management building, whereas Arturo Marincovich opened the Restaurant Belvedere in Restaurant Plavi. Those years also marked the beginning of the construction of the waterfront between the old and new quays, while the south part of the waterfront was to be constructed decades later. However, the family of Vis origin had already earlier established its reputation in the catering business. Pula’s daily newspaper at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries often advertised Restaurant Marincovich, which among other things offered Pilsen beer, and cold and hot dishes. The Marincovich family created bold inovations in their business, such as advertising thorough postcards which they published, but the true curiosity from the beginning of the 1900 was that guests could make a reservation for their restaurnt also by phone! Their restaurant was the usual stop for excursionists returning from Brijuni, which was regularly mentioned in the newspapers of that time. It was also easy to arrive from Pula to Fažana for a delicious lunch thanks to frequent boat lines, and from 1900 also by poast office omnibus that operated twice a day in both directions. The ride lasted oly an hour, the price was 1 Krone, and the one-way ticket was 60 Hellers. The Marincovich family was the cornerstone of local economy until 1947 when the liquer factory and destillery “Premiata distileria e fabbrica liquori”, opened by Rodolfo in 1897, was nationalized. An interesting fact is that according to the census conducted by a Zagreb commission in 1946, there were as many as 26 families in Fažana with the surname Marini, the form of their surname under Italian Administration. Only a year later not a single Marincovich familiy was left in Fažana, since all of them had emigrated to Italy.