Ćićarija ( sl, Čičarija; it, Cicceria, Monti della Vena; ruo, Cicearia; german: Tschitschen Boden), is a mountainous plateau in the northern and northeastern part of the

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

peninsula, long and wide. It mostly lies in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, while its northern part lies in southwestern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

(the traditional region of Inner Carniola). The highest peak is Veliki Planik at . At (2001), Ćićarija is sparsely populated, due to its

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

landscape, poor economic development and rough climate.

Name

The name ''Ćićarija'' is derived from the South Slavic term '' Ćić'', which refers to Istrians living in the area around the Učka Mountains, originally referring to the Vlachs and

Istro-Romanians The Istro-Romanians ( ruo, rumeri or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. However, due to se ...

of the area. The

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

is believed to derive from the Istro-Romanian word ''ce'' 'what', which is a semantic basis for other regional ethnonyms (cf. '' Kajkavian'', '' Chakavian'', etc.).

Sources

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cicarija Landforms of Istria County Dinaric Alps Plateaus of Croatia Karst plateaus of Slovenia Plateaus of Inner Carniola