# Taroncino — Language Version Control Framework
**Version 1.0 · June 2026**
*Supplement to taroncino-claude-design-brief.md*

---

## 1. Overview

Taroncino.com supports three language versions:

| Language | Code | URL prefix | Status |
|----------|------|------------|--------|
| English | `en` | `/` (root, default) | Live at launch |
| Italian | `it` | `/it/` | Placeholder at launch — full translation by Tatjana and Pamela Moscarda |
| Croatian | `hr` | `/hr/` | Placeholder at launch — full translation by Tatjana and Pamela Moscarda |

**Important context for Claude Design:**
Italian is not simply a translation for this brand. The Moscarda family are part of Istria's Italian-speaking minority — Italian is their first language, and the brand name Taroncino carries an explicit Italian suffix. The Italian version of this site should feel like an original voice, not a localisation. The Croatian version addresses the local market, tasting room visitors and regional stockists.

---

## 2. URL Structure

```
taroncino.com/                        ← English (default)
taroncino.com/it/                     ← Italian
taroncino.com/hr/                     ← Croatian

Examples:
taroncino.com/our-story/
taroncino.com/it/la-nostra-storia/
taroncino.com/hr/nasa-prica/

taroncino.com/our-oil/analysis/
taroncino.com/it/il-nostro-olio/lanalisi/
taroncino.com/hr/nas-maslinovo-ulje/analiza/
```

Each language version mirrors the full site structure. No content is omitted from any version at launch — placeholder copy fills translated sections until Tatjana and Pamela complete the proper translations.

---

## 3. Language Switcher — UI Specification

### Placement
Top right of the fixed navigation bar, immediately to the right of the "Enquire" button.

### Behaviour
- Default: English (`EN`) on page load, no cookie set
- On selection: switches language, sets a language cookie, remembers preference on return visits
- Switching language takes the user to the equivalent page in the new language (not the homepage)
- If an equivalent page doesn't exist (e.g. during phased build), redirect to the language homepage

### Visual design
- Subtle — must not compete with the "Enquire" CTA
- Format: small flag emoji + two-letter code + dropdown chevron
- Collapsed state: `🇬🇧 EN ▾`
- Dropdown options:
  - `🇬🇧 English`
  - `🇮🇹 Italiano`
  - `🇭🇷 Hrvatski`
- Typography: Inter, 11px, letter-spacing 0.06em, colour: `var(--text-light)` (#8A8A82)
- Dropdown: parchment background (#F7F4EE), 0.5px border, border-radius matches nav style
- No bold, no colour emphasis — this element should be visible but not prominent

### Nav bar final order (left to right)
`Taroncino` [brand] · · · `Our Oil ▾` `About Us ▾` `The Harvest Experience` · `Sales Enquiries` `🇬🇧 EN ▾`

Dropdowns: **Our Oil ▾** → Understanding the Analysis · The Varieties · How to Use It · The Chiavalon Press. **About Us ▾** → How We Farm · The People · Our Story.

---

## 4. HTML / Technical Implementation

### Hreflang tags
Add to `<head>` on every page — critical for SEO so Google serves the correct language version:

```html
<!-- On the English homepage -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://taroncino.com/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="it" href="https://taroncino.com/it/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="hr" href="https://taroncino.com/hr/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://taroncino.com/" />

<!-- On the Italian Our Story page -->
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://taroncino.com/our-story/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="it" href="https://taroncino.com/it/la-nostra-storia/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="hr" href="https://taroncino.com/hr/nasa-prica/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://taroncino.com/our-story/" />
```

### Lang attribute
Set the correct `lang` attribute on the `<html>` element for each version:
```html
<!-- English -->  <html lang="en">
<!-- Italian -->  <html lang="it">
<!-- Croatian --> <html lang="hr">
```

### Language cookie
```javascript
// Set on language selection
document.cookie = "taroncino_lang=it; path=/; max-age=31536000; SameSite=Lax";

// Read on page load to redirect if preference differs from current page
const savedLang = getCookie('taroncino_lang');
if (savedLang && savedLang !== currentPageLang) {
  window.location.href = getEquivalentPageUrl(savedLang);
}
```

---

## 5. Page & URL Slug Reference

### English (default — no prefix)
| Page | URL |
|------|-----|
| Homepage | `/` |
| Understanding the Analysis | `/our-oil/analysis/` |
| The Varieties | `/our-oil/varieties/` |
| How to Use It | `/our-oil/how-to-use/` |
| How We Farm | `/how-we-farm/` |
| The Chiavalon Press | `/how-we-farm/the-press/` |
| The People | `/the-people/` |
| Our Story | `/our-story/` |
| The Harvest Experience | `/experience/` |
| Enquire | `/enquire/` |

### Italian (`/it/` prefix)
| Page | URL |
|------|-----|
| Homepage | `/it/` |
| L'analisi | `/it/il-nostro-olio/lanalisi/` |
| Le varietà | `/it/il-nostro-olio/le-varieta/` |
| Come usarlo | `/it/il-nostro-olio/come-usarlo/` |
| Come coltiviamo | `/it/come-coltiviamo/` |
| Il frantoio Chiavalon | `/it/come-coltiviamo/il-frantoio/` |
| Le persone | `/it/le-persone/` |
| La nostra storia | `/it/la-nostra-storia/` |
| L'esperienza | `/it/lesperienza/` |
| Contatti | `/it/contatti/` |

### Croatian (`/hr/` prefix)
| Page | URL |
|------|-----|
| Homepage | `/hr/` |
| Analiza | `/hr/nase-ulje/analiza/` |
| Sorte maslina | `/hr/nase-ulje/sorte/` |
| Kako koristiti | `/hr/nase-ulje/kako-koristiti/` |
| Kako uzgajamo | `/hr/kako-uzgajamo/` |
| Uljara Chiavalon | `/hr/kako-uzgajamo/uljara/` |
| Ljudi | `/hr/ljudi/` |
| Naša priča | `/hr/nasa-prica/` |
| Iskustvo branja | `/hr/iskustvo-branja/` |
| Upit | `/hr/upit/` |

---

## 6. Navigation Labels by Language

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Our Oil | Il nostro olio | Naše ulje |
| The Varieties | Le varietà | Sorte maslina |
| About Us | Chi siamo | O nama |
| How We Farm | Come coltiviamo | Kako uzgajamo |
| The People | Le persone | Ljudi |
| Our Story | La nostra storia | Naša priča |
| The Harvest Experience | L'esperienza | Iskustvo branja |
| Sales Enquiries | Richieste commerciali | Prodajni upiti |

---

## 7. Placeholder Copy Strategy

Until Tatjana and Pamela complete full translations, all Italian and Croatian pages use the following approach:

### Placeholder text format
Do not use Lorem Ipsum. Instead, use clearly marked placeholder blocks that indicate what the content is, so the site can be reviewed structurally before translation is complete:

```
[IT — PLACEHOLDER: Headline for hero section]
[IT — PLACEHOLDER: Opening paragraph — place and provenance intro]

[HR — PLACEHOLDER: Headline for hero section]
[HR — PLACEHOLDER: Opening paragraph — place and provenance intro]
```

### Key UI strings — translated now
The following short UI strings are translated immediately so the site functions correctly in all three languages at launch. Do not use placeholder for these.

#### Buttons and CTAs

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Discover the oil | Scopri l'olio | Otkrijte ulje |
| Our story → | La nostra storia → | Naša priča → |
| Get in touch → | Contattaci → | Kontaktirajte nas → |
| Send an email → | Invia un'email → | Pošaljite email → |
| Read the full analysis → | Leggi l'analisi completa → | Pročitajte punu analizu → |
| About the estate → | La tenuta → | O imanju → |
| Our ethics → | La nostra etica → | Naša etika → |
| How we farm → | Come coltiviamo → | Kako uzgajamo → |
| Understanding the analysis → | Capire l'analisi → | Razumijevanje analize → |
| The full story → | La storia completa → | Cijela priča → |

#### Footer strings

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Single-estate extra virgin olive oil | Olio extravergine di oliva da tenuta singola | Ekstra djevičansko maslinovo ulje s jednog imanja |
| Istria, Croatia | Istria, Croazia | Istra, Hrvatska |
| Produced by OPG Tatjana Moscarda | Prodotto da OPG Tatjana Moscarda | Proizvodi OPG Tatjana Moscarda |
| Produced using organic methods | Prodotto con metodi biologici | Proizvedeno organskim metodama |
| Not officially certified | Non ufficialmente certificato | Nije službeno certificirano |
| © 2026 OPG Tatjana Moscarda | © 2026 OPG Tatjana Moscarda | © 2026 OPG Tatjana Moscarda |
| All enquiries | Tutte le richieste | Sve upite |
| We aim to respond within 24–48 hours | Risponderemo entro 24–48 ore | Cilj nam je odgovoriti unutar 24–48 sati |

#### Availability and scarcity banner

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Annual harvest. Limited availability. When it's gone, it's gone. | Raccolta annuale. Disponibilità limitata. Una volta esaurito, è esaurito. | Godišnja berba. Ograničena dostupnost. Kad nestane, nestane. |

#### Language switcher labels

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| 🇬🇧 English | 🇮🇹 Italiano | 🇭🇷 Hrvatski |

#### Shipping section

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Europe | Europa | Europa |
| United States | Stati Uniti | Sjedinjene Države |
| Australia | Australia | Australija |
| Available · rates on request | Disponibile · prezzi su richiesta | Dostupno · cijene na upit |

#### UK shipping note (Italian version)
*Al momento non è possibile spedire nel Regno Unito. Le normative doganali post-Brexit hanno reso economicamente insostenibile farlo — una situazione che troviamo frustrante quanto voi, considerando che due delle persone che stanno dietro a Taroncino vivono a Londra.*

#### UK shipping note (Croatian version)
*Trenutačno ne možemo isporučivati u Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo. Post-Brexit uvozni propisi to su financijski onemogućili — situacija koja nam je jednako frustrirajuća, s obzirom na to da dvoje od nas koji stoje iza Taroncina žive u Londonu.*

---

## 8. Chemical Analysis Data (language-neutral)

The chemical analysis figures are the same in all three languages. Only the labels and explanatory text translate. The numbers, units and threshold values remain identical.

| Metric | Value | Unit | Max permitted |
|--------|-------|------|---------------|
| Free Acidity / Acidità libera / Slobodna kiselost | 0.32 | % | 0.8% |
| Peroxide Value / Valore dei perossidi / Vrijednost peroksida | 8.5 | meq O₂/kg | 20 |
| Wax Content / Contenuto di cere / Sadržaj voska | 60.2 | mg/kg | 250 |
| UV Absorbance K232 / Assorbimento UV K232 / UV apsorpcija K232 | 1.967 | — | 2.50 |
| UV Absorbance K268 / Assorbimento UV K268 / UV apsorpcija K268 | 0.146 | — | 0.22 |
| Polyphenols / Polifenoli / Polifenoli | 626 | mg/kg | — |

---

## 9. Analysis Page — Section Labels Translated

These appear above each metric as small uppercase labels.

| English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|----------|
| Chemical composition — 2025 harvest | Composizione chimica — raccolta 2025 | Kemijski sastav — berba 2025. |
| Free Acidity | Acidità libera | Slobodna kiselost |
| Peroxide Value | Valore dei perossidi | Vrijednost peroksida |
| Wax Content | Contenuto di cere | Sadržaj voska |
| UV Absorbance K232 | Assorbimento UV K232 | UV apsorpcija K232 |
| UV Absorbance K268 | Assorbimento UV K268 | UV apsorpcija K268 |
| Polyphenols | Polifenoli | Polifenoli |
| Why the numbers are this good | Perché i numeri sono così buoni | Zašto su brojke tako dobre |
| Extra virgin: confirmed | Extra vergine: confermato | Ekstra djevičansko: potvrđeno |
| Low oxidation — excellent freshness | Bassa ossidazione — freschezza eccellente | Niska oksidacija — izvrsna svježina |
| Purity confirmed | Purezza confermata | Čistoća potvrđena |
| Within extra virgin threshold | Entro la soglia dell'extra vergine | Unutar praga ekstra djevičanskog |
| Secondary oxidation minimal | Ossidazione secondaria minima | Sekundarna oksidacija minimalna |
| Exceeds EU health claim threshold ×2.5 | Supera la soglia UE per le indicazioni sulla salute ×2,5 | Premašuje EU prag zdravstvenih tvrdnji ×2,5 |

---

## 10. Enquiry Page — Email Subject Lines by Language

Pre-populate mailto links with the correct subject line per language:

| Enquiry type | English | Italian | Croatian |
|-------------|---------|---------|----------|
| Stockist | `?subject=Stockist enquiry` | `?subject=Richiesta rivenditore` | `?subject=Upit distributera` |
| Restaurant | `?subject=Restaurant enquiry` | `?subject=Richiesta ristorante` | `?subject=Upit restorana` |
| Private | `?subject=Private order enquiry` | `?subject=Ordine privato` | `?subject=Privatna narudžba` |
| Visit | `?subject=Visit enquiry` | `?subject=Richiesta visita` | `?subject=Upit za posjet` |

---

## 11. Variety Names — All Three Languages

The five olive variety names appear across multiple pages. Use these consistently:

| Variety | English | Italian | Croatian |
|---------|---------|---------|----------|
| Bianchera | Bianchera (Istarska Bjelica) | Bianchera (Bjelica istriana) | Bianchera (Istarska Bjelica) |
| Busa | Busa (Buža) | Busa (Buža) | Buža (Busa) |
| Carbonazza | Carbonazza (Karbonaca) | Carbonazza (Karbonaca) | Karbonaca (Carbonazza) |
| Leccino | Leccino | Leccino | Leccino |
| Frantoio | Frantoio | Frantoio | Frantoio |

Note: Leccino and Frantoio retain their Italian names in all three languages — they are proper nouns for the variety, not common nouns.

---

## 12. Translation Handover Instructions for Tatjana and Pamela

When Tatjana and Pamela are ready to provide full translations, they should work from the English master copy in `taroncino-claude-design-brief.md`.

### Priority order for translation
Translate in this order — highest traffic and impact pages first:

1. Homepage (all three sections: hero, intro strip, pillars, oil feature)
2. Our Story (most personal — Italian version especially important)
3. Understanding the Analysis (labels only — body copy is secondary priority)
4. Enquire page (functional — needed for stockist and visitor conversions)
5. Environmental / How We Farm
6. The People / Ethics
7. The Varieties
8. How to Use It
9. The Chiavalon Press

### Notes for the Italian translation specifically
- The Italian version should feel like the primary voice, not a translation
- The Danillo sections in Our Story are especially important to get right in Italian — this is his language
- The -ino explanation in the name section can be simplified in Italian (the reader already understands the diminutive)
- The Brexit note can be softened slightly in Italian — the frustration is more relatable to an Italian-speaking audience with family connections in both countries
- Do not translate the brand name Taroncino — it is a proper noun in all languages

### Notes for the Croatian translation
- The Croatian version should feel warm and locally rooted — not formally translated
- The Taronco field name should remain as Taronco in Croatian (it is a local proper noun, not a Croatian word)
- The Italian minority context in Our Story is sensitive in Croatian — Tatjana is best placed to judge the right tone here
- Chiavalon is a well-known name in Istria — no need to explain it at length in the Croatian version

---

## 13. Second Pass — Content Differences by Language

The following sections may want to vary by language rather than simply translate. These are flagged for review in the second pass — do not implement at launch.

| Section | Issue | Note |
|---------|-------|------|
| Shipping / Brexit note | Irrelevant to Croatian audience | Croatian version may omit or shorten significantly |
| Enquire page — audience framing | Stockist language differs for Croatian market | Local visitors and tasting room enquiries are more relevant |
| Our Story — Italian minority context | Reads differently in Italian vs Croatian vs English | Tatjana to advise on tone for Croatian version |
| Visit / tasting room section | Croatian visitors need practical info (directions, hours) more than English visitors | Consider expanding for Croatian version |
| Analysis page — IOC reference | IOC is well known in Croatian food industry | Can be referenced more briefly in Croatian version |

---

*End of language framework. Feed this document to Claude Design alongside taroncino-claude-design-brief.md. Implement UI strings and hreflang tags immediately. All body copy in Italian and Croatian remains placeholder until Tatjana and Pamela complete translations.*
