Istria – the Svetvinčenat medieval festival, Pula and the hilltop towns

Istria is the largest peninsula on the Adriatic – “the closest point to Italy”. Venetian influence is everywhere: Venice-style bell towers, Italian street names and pasta with truffles. The coast has Roman towns and fishing harbours. Inland are green hills crowned with small towns, vineyards, olive groves and truffle forests. Every summer the region hosts medieval festivals, perfect for families with kids.

The Svetvinčenat medieval festival

Every summer, usually in August, the town of Svetvinčenat, with its Renaissance Morosini-Grimani castle, goes back to the Middle Ages. There’s a parade of knights, ladies and squires, archers and crossbowmen, and a castle siege with catapults and flaming arrows. All day a medieval fair runs with craft workshops, and taverns serve period food. Kids love it. Check the dates – the programme is announced each year.

Pula

Pula is at the southern tip of the peninsula. Its 1st-century Roman amphitheatre (the Arena) is one of the six largest surviving Roman amphitheatres in the world and one of the best preserved. Today it hosts concerts and a film festival. The town also has the Arch of the Sergii and the Temple of Augustus.

The hilltop towns

• Motovun – a walled medieval town on a hill above the Mirna valley, known for truffles and its film festival.
• Grožnjan – the artists’ town, with galleries, studios and narrow stone lanes.
• Buzet – “the city of truffles”, a handy base for touring.
• Roč and Hum – linked by the Glagolitic Alley, 11 stone monuments to the Glagolitic script along the road between them. Hum claims to be “the smallest town in the world”.
• Beram – the church of St Mary on Škrilinah, with Gothic frescoes including the famous Dance of Death (1474).

The coast

Rovinj, with its Venetian bell tower on the hill, and Poreč, with the Euphrasian Basilica and its 6th-century Byzantine mosaics (UNESCO).

Sample 6-day plan

1. Overnight drive from Sofia via Belgrade and Zagreb.
2. Buzet – arrive, check in and explore.
3. Svetvinčenat – a full day at the medieval festival.
4. Pula, Beram, Motovun and Grožnjan with a local guide.
5. Beach in Rovinj or Poreč.
6. Return.

Practical tips

• Try truffles (tartufi) with fuži pasta, Istrian olive oil and Malvazija wine.
• Buy olive oil straight from small producers.
• The currency is the euro, and Croatia is in Schengen.
• Combine with Ljubljana and Bled – Slovenia is about an hour away.