"Motovun - the Heart of Istria" a Motovun Travel Page by polardabar

Motovun [or Montona in Italian] is a small town situated on a hill in the central part of Croatia's biggest peninsula - Istria. It's only one of the numerous places like itself, but it got me with its charm - what can I say... I just hope I'll manage to make you love it too...

I've been returning there for the last couple of years [as many others] for several different reasons:

- wine is a big part of Istria - some of the best cellars in Croatia are situated & some of the best wines come from there. Families in Istria have been traditionally making wine for centuries now, so when you see a family name, you already know how the wine is! I've tried some great wines there & I think I grew a bit of a taste there, hehe! :)

- a lot of (young) people go there for the Film Festival, which is usually held around the beginning of Aug. I've never had the chance to go there actually, because I always end up being somewhere else at the time, but I've heard it's a great experience! Camping under the hill, hanging around with people, drinking wine, of course & watching great films in the evening... I'm definitely gonna have to go there one day!

- the scenery in & around Motovun is absolutely fabulous! I just couldn't stop taking photos - thank God I had a lot of memory on my memory card! :)

- interesting history & architecture which don't make Motovun a dull little village in the middle of nowhere - on the contrary! :)

There are a lot of things to see there, so I always try to talk people into going there! So, if you're fed up with touristy places, beaches full of kids & crowded clubs, go there! :)

I've been to Motovun a couple of times, since we do quite a lot of field work there. This last time I had a great opportunity to take part in a seminar about shamanism, which was really interesting! Since I'm studying Cultural anthropology (besides Linguistics & Scandinavistics), it was interesting to talk about that subject, especially because Istria is such a rich area when it comes to that. People still believe in witches & the great thing is no one is ashamed to talk about it! It's definitely a great place for field work...

We were situated in a house owned by the university right at the Main square, so we didn't have to bother with the everyday climbing up the narrow city streets.

The great thing about Motovun is that it's situated on a hill, so if the timing is right & the weather is nice, you can catch a glimpse of the beautiful surroundings - numerous other small hills, foggy valley & the river at sunset. If you're up really early, you might experience something really unique! Sitting in a bar, sipping coffee, watching the fog lifting up & showing you the beauty of the valley with other small towns floating on the white sea...

Our last field work was also very interesting [and we're gonna go again soon], but until then, read about it my Travelogue...