Lidija Percan

Lidija Percan (born 16 March 1938) is an Istrian Croatian singer. Although she sings both in Croatian and Italian, Percan rose to fame in Yugoslavia principally thanks to her songs in the Italian language and mostly in the Venetian language, both original songs and popular ones, such as her well-known hits "La mula de Parenzo", "La bella campagnola", and "Bella ciao".

Percan is credited with significantly helping to spread the Italian language and culture in former Yugoslavia.

Biography She was born in Rakalj, in Eastern Istria, on 16 March 1938. Although she considers herself an Istrian Croat,

In 2019 she was awarded the Order of the Croatian Interlace by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.

During her career Percan sang both in New York City (1972) and the Soviet Union, at a show attended by about 5 thousand people.

During the time of Yugoslavia, Percan also sang for the soldiers in the Yugoslav barracks. In a 2018 interview she stated that singing in post-war Yugoslavia was a "beautiful sensation," and that she never had any problems or found any hindrances.

When asked which of her songs she is most fond of, Percan replied that she is especially bound to all songs from Canzoni di una volta, while among her songs in Croatian she particularly cherishes Hiljadu suza za jednog mornara and Sve su se laste vratile sa juga, composed by Đorđe Novković.