Page 61 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

ISTRIA AND THE K V ARNER AREA  59

9 Fažana (Fasana)
Map A3. * 3,900. k Pula, 8 km
(5 miles). £ Vodnjan, 5 km (3 miles).
4 to the Brijuni Islands. n 43
istarske divizije 8, (052) 383 727.
∑ infofazana.hr
This small fishing town is known
mainly as the embarkation
point for the islands of the
Brijuni National Park (see pp60–
61). Its ancient name, Vasianum,
derives from the production of
oil and wine amphorae during
Church of St Elizabeth inside the walls of Bale the Roman period. Facing the
sea is the church of SS Cosmas
7 Bale (Valle) 8 Vodnjan and Damian (Sv. Kuzma i
Map A3. * 900. k Pula, 10 km (Dignano) Damjan), which was founded in
(17 miles). £ Pula, 25 km (15 miles). Map A3. * 4,000. k Pula, 11 km (7 the 11th century and has under-
@ Trg palih boraca. n Rovinjska 1, miles). £ Željeznička ulica, (052) 511 gone various reconstructions.
(052) 824 270. _ Night of Bale, 538. n Narodni trg 3, (052) 511 700. Inside is a painting by Jurai
Baljanska noć (first Sun in Aug); _ New Olive Oil Days (3rd weekend Ventura of The Last Supper
Castrum Vallis, art exhibition (Jul & in Nov). ∑ vodnjandignano.com (1578), and in the sacristy are
Aug). ∑ bale-valle.hr remains of frescoes by Italian
The town of Vodnjan stands on artists from Friuli dating from
On a hill of limestone, the a hill among vineyards and olive the 15th–16th centuries.
Illyrians constructed a fort which groves. At one time it was an To the side of the church is a
dominated the surrounding Illyrian fort and later, a Roman seven-storey bell tower with an
countryside. The Romans also military post known as Vicus octagonal spire. The Church of
built a castrum (Castrum Vallis) Atinianus. From 1331 until 1797, Our Lady of Carmel from the
on the same site, which was it was under Venetian rule. late 14th century has Gothic
renovated when the place The large People Square in frescoes by unknown artists and
became a feudal estate of the the centre of the town is sur- a 17th-century loggia. Nearby
Patriarchate of Aquileia. During rounded by notable buildings is the church of St Eliseus from
Venetian rule, which began in such as the Benussi House, the the 6th century, with a stone
1332, the town grew in size and Bembo House, the City Hall, doorway and blind-arch
acquired its present layout of built in Neo-Gothic style, and windows, which preserves its
an elliptical wall with towers the elegant Bradamante Palace. Byzantine appearance from
enclosing two parallel rows of The old part of town still has the 8th–9th centuries.
houses. Interesting buildings various buildings in Venetian- Thanks to the growth in
include the Gothic-Venetian Gothic style, including the Bettica numbers of visitors heading for
Magistrates’ Court with coats of Palace and the 18th-century the Brijuni Islands, the town has
arms on the portico; the loggia; Church of St Blaise (Sv. Blaž). In grown and new facilities have
and the Gothic-Renaissance the church are some splendid been built.
Castle dating from the 15th statues and about 20 paintings
century, a residence for the from the 14th to 19th centuries,
Soardo Bembo family. Under as well as a Last Supper by
one of the two side towers is a G Contarini (1598) and an
gate leading to the Old Town. Encounter of Saints attributed
The Church of St Elizabeth to Palma il Vecchio. There is
(Pohođenje Blažene Djevice also a fine polyptych by Paolo
Marije), of Romanesque origins, Veneziano from 1351 (Portrait of
was reconstructed in the 16th the Blessed Leon Bembo), plus six
century and again in the 19th. mummies of saints, which have
The church contains a splendid survived miraculously without
Romanesque crucifix, a sarco pha- being embalmed. The most
gus, a polyptych and a crypt revered is that of St Nicolosia.
with a marble Renaissance altar.
There are two other churches R St Blaise
in Bale. One dates from the Župni trg. Tel (052) 511 420.
14th century and is dedicated Open by appt. Collection of Religious
to St Anthony; the other, Art: Tel (052) 511 420. Open Jun–Sep:
dedicated to the Holy Spirit, 9:30am–7pm Mon–Sat, noon–5pm Façade of the Church of SS. Cosmas and
was built in the 15th century. Sun; Oct–May: by appt. Damian in Fažana

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