Vodnjan, Travel Guide for holidays in Vodnjan, Istria
Vodnjan – Points of interests
Vodnjan is a little town in the southwestern region of Istria. According to a legend it was founded from a group of seven villas which were a part of Pula’s colonial property. This is an area of old traditions, built on the traces of prehistoric forts. Vodnjan managed to maintain its outstanding chracteristics of a Medieval urban and rural centre, so that it resembles a location with a rich history . It wide area with innumerable chracteristic kažuni or casite (little stone hauses) built in the technique of a dry stone walls denoting property satnds as a witness to a millennium of its inhabitants being engaged in agriculture, espeically olive-growing and wine-growing as the basis of their own material prosperity . The old torca in Vodnjan reminds us of the traditional method of milling olives. If you are a culinary enthusiast, you can taste the specialties of this region in the restaurants “Girotondo”, “Mali Bože”, “San Rocco” and “21”. The center of the town maintains its medieval look with narrow streets which swerve between houses, with stone facades, old streets in the characteristic Gothic-Venetian, Renaissance and Baroque styles, as well as numerous churches riched with memories and works. The town is full of cultural and historical monuments: the church of St. Blaž (built on the remains of an early Roman church destroyed in 1781, whose size with its dome reach 25 meters, making it the largest parish church in Istria) with its famous sacred collection specialized in numerous relics and the bodies of saints, habits of the saints and valuable books,than the church of St. Jacob (witness of an important historical events such as the peace agreement with Pula in 1331), church of St. Catherine, church of St. Mary Traverse and the palace of the Bettica family (a popular castle built in 1330 which today hosts a museum). The large People Square in the center of the town .It is surrounder by important buildings such as the City Hall in the neo-gothic style, the Benussi house, the Bembo house and the Bradamante palace with its decorated facade. With its 3500 inhabitants Vodnjan has a large number of people descended from the indigenous population called „Bumbari“ with a thousand year old roots. The have been passing down their Istrian –Roman and Istrian – Venetian dialects to generation. together with their rich local folklore, valuable and colorful traditional clothing, hair jewelry, centuries old songs, dances and ceremonies . There are various sports and recreation activities in Vodnjan, such as cycling, horseback riding, tennis and during the summer time, Vodnjan hosts various festivities, such as the “Lavender Festival”, “Leron” (international folklore festival) and “Sweet Summer” (tasting of traditional desserts).
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