Vallese: Bale’s Istriot heritage in games and books
Vallese is one of six Istriot varieties. Children in Bale learn it through games and counting rhymes, while local authors write in it.
A Romance variety distinct from Istro-Venetian
Bale’s local speech, known in Italian as Vallese, belongs to the Istriot or Istro-Romance varieties of southwestern Istria. It differs from Istro-Venetian, the Venetian variety that has influenced the peninsula’s linguistic landscape. Istriot is Romance in origin, though linguists differ over its precise position within the Romance language family.
Counting rhymes, riddles and everyday conversation
Bale’s Italian Community, based in Soardo-Bembo Palace, runs the Vallese language group Favelemo 'l valex. It works with the local school on classroom and extracurricular activities.
Teacher Miriana Pauletić leads this primary-school group. Children read and write in Vallese, recite poems and perform short scenes from everyday life. They combine proverbs and riddles with counting rhymes and traditional games, repeating words through action and conversation.
From dictionaries to children’s stories
Linguists Domenico Cernecca and Sandro Cergna documented Vallese in dictionaries published in 1986 and 2015. Literary works in the local variety accompany this linguistic material. The Community’s publications include the periodical L calego de Vale and Fiabole Valexe by Alessandra Civitico Božić.
At the Istriot Language Festival gathering in Bale in autumn 2026, children encountered Una storia, cinque voci by writer Romina Floris. They explored the same story in five Istriot varieties. A search for hidden words and illustrated bingo continued the language workshop, linking the story with listening and play.