Brad Pitt and partners to build luxury resort in Istria, Croatia

A Croatia media exclusive claims Brad Pitt and partners are to build a luxury resort opposite the Brijuni islands in Istria.

An exclusive report in leading Croatian national daily Jutarnji List on February 22, 2012 claims that Hollywood star Brad Pitt will be involved with partners in building a luxury waterfront resort opposite the Brijuni Islands in northern Croatia. The proposed project, which has a working title of 'Barabriga', will include hotels, villas, a golf course and a marina, is the biggest tourism project undertaken by businessman Danko Koncar, who bought the project from Hypo Bank for 85 million euro, according to the paper. The project's first acting connection was Rade Serbedzija, who starred in "In The Land of Blood and Honey," the critically-acclaimed debut as a director of Pitt's wife, Angelina Jolie. Serbedzija interested Pitt in the project at the Berlin Film Festival and introduced him to Koncar. The Brijuni islands, once an exclusive resort favoured by President Tito, is known to Jolie, and she visited the area last year on her first visit to Croatia. She was once again in the country last week for the premiere of her new film in Zagreb. The Hollywood couple's interest in Croatia is part of a growing attraction to the former Yugoslav republic, which reported record official tourism numbers in 2011. Other regular celebrity visitors include the yachts of Roman Abramovich, Bill Gates and Bernie Ecclestone, while the antics of Prince Harry in a Hvar nightclub and the revelation of Beyonce's baby bump at a Hvar beach club made global headlines.