Ćićarȉja (ital. Ciceria, Cicceria, Monti della Vena, lit. Čičarija), a hilly plateau in the northern and northeastern continental part of Istria, extends in a Dinaric direction from the northwest (the hinterland of Trieste and Koper) to the south -east (the hinterland of Rijeka and Opatija).
It is approximately 45 km long and 10 to 15 km wide (surface area approximately 500 km2), and on average 700 to 800 m high. Its green cover is dotted with white cliffs, which is why that part of Istria is also called White Istria in the strict sense.
There are no clear borders: on the eastern side its border is along the Kastav–Matuji–Veprinac–Vranja road in the direction of the Poklon pass. To the east of it the Liburnian area extends along the Opatija Riviera. The northwestern border is the Tršćanski and Brkin Karst area, the northern border is the Ćićarija ridge parallel to the Rijeka – Trieste road (Brgud – Šapjane – Podgrad – Obrov – Materia – Kozina), and the southern border is between the calcareous and flysch subsoil (Vranja - Lupoglav - Roč - Buzet – Sočerga – Črni Kal). The morphological characteristic of the area is a mountainous series of hills and valleys arranged in a Dinaric direction, at the base of the flysch deposits on which the older limestone deposits were slid by tectonic movements, thus giving the Ciceria a specific scaly structure. Above these covers are level terraces that shape valleys with pastures and forest cover. The elevated parts of the tops of the limestone deposits are mostly bare and have vertical sections where the "fronts" cover the flysch-like substrate.
Ćićarȉja (ital. Ciceria, Cicceria, Monti della Vena, lit. Čičarija), a hilly plateau in the northern and northeastern continental part of Istria, extends in a Dinaric direction from the northwest (the hinterland of Trieste and Koper) to the south - east (the hinterland of Rijeka and Opatija).
It is approximately 45 km long and 10 to 15 km wide (surface area approximately 500 km2), and on average 700 to 800 m high. Its green cover is dotted with white cliffs, which is why that part of Istria is also called White Istria in the strict sense.
There are no clear borders: on the eastern side its border is along the Kastav–Matuji–Veprinac–Vranja road in the direction of the Poklon pass. To the east of it the Liburnian area extends along the Opatija Riviera. The northwestern border is the Tršćanski and Brkin Karst area, the northern border is the Ćićarija ridge parallel to the Rijeka – Trieste road (Brgud – Šapjane – Podgrad – Obrov – Materia – Kozina), and the southern border is between the calcareous and flysch subsoil (Vranja - Lupoglav - Roč - Buzet – Sočerga – Črni Kal). The morphological characteristic of the area is a mountainous series of hills and valleys arranged in a Dinaric direction, at the base of the flysch deposits on which the older limestone deposits were slid by tectonic movements, thus giving the Ciceria a specific scale structure. Above these covers are level terraces that shape valleys with pastures and forest cover. The elevated parts of the tops of the limestone deposits are mostly bare and have vertical sections where the "fronts" cover the flysch-like substrate.