Bale/Vale and other Istria, Croatia Things to Do Tips

Click here to know more on Bale/Vale

Bale, Vale in dialect and in Italian, is a city with a little more than 1,000 inhabitants, built on a small hill. It is at the crossing of the roads Pula-Bale-Piran and Bale-Rovinj. A Roman castel was built at the same the place than prehistoric dwellings. In the middle ages, the village was part of the patriarch of Aquilea and after 1332 under the control of Venice.
The city has kept the same figure than in the Middle Ages with remains of the defense system (city wall, towers and gates). A narrow street surrounds the castle, lined by olds stone houses, some in good condition, other needing masonry work.
The old core of the city is pedestrian only. The streets are so narrow that anyway it would be impossible for a car. As it is not touristy, there is no problem for parking on the outskirts of the old city.

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Click here to know more on Beram, a hidden marvel

BERAM is located on a hill, 10 km from Pazin toward Porec. In the 19th, a prehistoric necropolis at the base of the settlement was studied that yielded valuable archeological findings. In the Middle Ages, Beram was surrounded by bulwarks and a great defensive tower was built in the center. In 1431 at the base of this tower, the Late Gothic church of Sveti Martin was built. This church was decorated with frescoes that have been preserved in the eastern part of the new parish church (built at the beginning of this century since the old church was incorporated within the new monumental building).
Approximately 1.5 km from Beram is one of the most famous cultural and artistic landmarks in Istria - the cemetery church of St. Mary (Sveta Marija na Skrilinah). It was built in the Middle Ages and baroque remodeling contributed to its present appearance.
The interior of the church is ornamented by the most significant Istrian mural cycle - frescoes painted by Vincent of Kastav in 1474. The different fields show sequences from the life of Mary and Christ, the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the figures of individual saints and symbolic scenes, Saint Martin, Saint Florian , etc.
The top half of the northern wall is occupied by a colorful procession, the Adoration of the Kings, and the top half of the western wall by an allegorical Dance of death,.
The cycle of frescoes in the Church of St. Mary shows all the characteristics of the art of the border territory where influences from the south and north merge. Models of folk simplicity are incorporated in a unique narration. In this work, Vincent of Kastav was joined by assistants.
During the remodelling of the church in the early 18th, some of the paintings were damaged when new windows were installed. With time, the frescoes by Vincent of Kastav and his assistants became covered by mortar, to be rediscovered in 1913 and exhibited to the public.

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Click here to know more on Delicious roast suckling piglet in Flengi !

Flengi is 5 km inland to Vrsar. There is nothing to visit in Flengi but plenty to taste. The whole village roasts suckling piglets (Odojak na raznju) in a dozen of ''gostiona''. The firsts piglets begin to cook each morning between 9 and 10 AM and though each restaurant cooks at least 3 o 4 piglets, by 10 PM, there is nothing left.
Gradina, 2 km further has only one gostiona. If you drive again for 4 km, you will arrive in Klostar, where are the remains of an ancient monastery (hence the name). At first, they seem to do the same business but a closer look reveals lambs (janjetina) instead of suckling piglets.

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Click here to know more on Paz in Istria

Paz is a very small village of Istria with only 99 inhabitants. It is 19 km from Pazin, at 120 m elevation. It is one of those Istrian villages set up high in the mountain (the sea is not far, thus 120 m IS a high elevation). From the valley, it outlines itself on the sky.
It is on the road from Cerovlje to Vranja via Boljunsko Polje, a road with many beautiful landscapes

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Click here to know more on Pazin

Pazin is a small industrial town of the center of Istria.
It has a castle (kastel) built around 1540 on the remains of an older one from the 10th century. The river Pazincica disapear in a chasm and form three lakes underneath the town. The Caves of Pazin (Pazinska jama) have given to french writer Jules Verne the idea, in his novel 'Mathias Sandorf', to have his heroe, a magyar rebel, escape to his persuers into the chasm and go out in the fjord of Lim !

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Click here to know more on Porec, another must see in Croatia !

Prehistoric remains have been uncovered in and around Porec. Two centuries AD, a roman castrum was built on the peninsula. The Basilica was built in 5th century. Since 1861, it has been the capital and the seat of the National Assembly of Istria. From 1918 through 1943, it was ruled by Italy. During WW2, the town was bombed and heavily damaged. It was freed from the German army by the Yugoslav army on April 30th 1945.
The city plan still shows the ancient Roman Castrum structure. The main streets are Decumanus and Cardo Maximus still preserved in original ancient forms. Trg Marafor is the Roman forum with two temples, one dedicated to Neptune, erected in the first century AD
The complex of the Euphrasian Basilica, was built in the 5th century and extended to it's present state in the 6th century under the Byzantine Empire and bishop Euphrasius. It is has been inscribed by UNESCO in 1997 on the world heritage list. It contains the famous fish mosaic.
In 1844, in the first existing guide book, Porec was already described as a main destination. For decades, Austro-Hungarian aristocracy made Porec their sea-side resort.
Porec, with a permanent population under 10,000, is now the Croatian tourist capital and in Summer, it's population sky-rockets well over 100,000. So, you have better visit early in the morning. That is what I did ! Moreover, the light is better for good pictures.

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It would not have been reasonable to build a Pula page without its arena. Then, here it is !
Pula is second to Rome for its arena !
I will put more details later on the arena, but it is one of the largest of the (Roman) world and one of the best kept.

Pula, touristy but a must see !

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Rovinj, a must visit !

Rovinj, 13,647 permanent inhabitants, much more in Summer, always surprises. Though plenty of billboards advertise for the city, when you drive towards the town, nothing in the landscape announces that you are close to it. And suddenly here it is ! In Croatia, Rovinj is among the places that receive the highest number of tourists. So, at least in Summer, don't expect to be alone ! The church of Sveti Euphemia is on top of the city and can be seen from everywhere. From the summit of the campanile, the view is breathtaking. Around 800, the sarcophagus of Saint Euphemia is supposed to have floated by itself from Greece to the Rovinj shore.

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If you want to know more on Sveti Lovrec Pazenaticki, click here

Long name, small city !
Sveti Lovrec Pazenaticki is in the western part of Istra, 14 km south east to Porec, on the road from Koper to Pula. It has about 360 habitants
Sveti Lovrec Pazenaticki get its name from the small church of Sveti Lovro (Saint Laurent) built in the 8th century. The parochial church of Saint Martin was built in the 9-11th century but the new fa?ade was done in 1838.
The old city walls from the middle ages are in good condition.
Close to the entrance of the town is the small church of Sveti Blaz (Saint Blaise)

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If you want to know more on Vodnjan/Dignano, click here

Vodjnan is 11 km north to Pula. Dignano is the name of the city in the istriot dialect. This is one of the places in Istria where the istriot dialect is remaining in use.
With its red walls, the town hall, on Narodni Trg (Piazza del Popolo) has a very special character.
The campanile is very high, one of the highest in Istria abd can be seen from a long distance.

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