Pietro Stancovich

Pietro Mattia Stancovich or Petar Matija Stanković (Barban, 24 February 1771 – Barban, 12 September 1852) was a priest, historian and inventor, born in Istria.

He studied theology in Padua, was ordained in Pula and then appointed a canon in Barban. He self-published a total of twenty books, including a biography of prominent Istrians. Stancovic was also an inventor, constructing a sowing plow and two devices intended for the processing of olives (the spolpoliva and torchioliva). He wrote a treatise about his inventions, published in 1840. In Rovinj there is a library containing thousands of his books, called the Stancoviciana.