Page 69 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

ISTRIA AND THE K V ARNER AREA  67

In the 14th century, Pazin
passed into the hands of the
Habsburgs, who sold it to
the Montecuccoli family in the
18th century. They maintained
ownership of the castle after
the end of the feudal regime.
The castle’s present layout
dates from the 16th century.
The tower is reached through
a doorway in the façade
made in 1786. It houses the
Ethnographic Museum of Istria
(Etnografski muzej Istre) and The hilltop town of Pićan with its 48-m (157-ft) bell tower, one of the tallest in Istria
the Pazin Town Museum, where
weaponry and finds from the y Pićan window decorates the façade
castle are on display. Map B2. * 320. @ only during and inside are works by
The Church of the Visitation school year; contact Pazin (060) 306 Venetian artists of the 16th
of the Blessed Virgin Mary 040. n Franine i Jurine 14, Pazin, (052) and 17th centuries, including
(Pohođenje Blažene Djevice 622 460. ∑ central-istria.com/pican a painting by Palma il Giovane.
Marije) and its 15th-century In the same street are the
monastery are worth a visit. Known as Petina under the Scampicchio Palace and the
Romans, Pićan stands on a early 18th-century Baroque
E Ethnographic Museum of Istria hilltop 350m (1,150 ft) high. Battiala Lazzarini Palace, also
Castle, Trg Istarskog razvoda 1275, It was a bishop’s see from Late Venetian-influenced, and now
no 1. Tel (052) 622 220. Open 10am– Antiquity to the end of the 18th the Town Museum, with Roman
6pm daily. & 8 ∑ emi.hr century, and has some intriguing and medieval finds and a lifelike
E Pazin Town Museum medieval buildings. Inside the reconstruc tion of a coal mine.
Castle, Trg Istarskog razvoda 1275, medieval walls is a cathedral Labin was Croatia’s most
no 1. Tel (052) 623 054. Open Apr–Oct: dedicated to St Nicephorus, important coal mining town
10am–6pm daily; Nov–Mar: 10am–3pm built in the 14th century, and until the mines were closed
Tue–Thu, 11am–4pm Fri, 10am–4pm rebuilt in the early 18th century down in 1999. In 1921, in
Sat & Sun. & 8∑ muzej-pazin.hr after an earthquake. The story of opposition to rising Fascism in
the Christian martyr Nicephorus Italy, 2,000 coalminers set up the
is shown in a painting by Valentin Labin Republic, a socialist mini-
t Gračišće Metzinger (1699–1759) in the state that barely lasted a month.
cathedral. The Romanesque
Map B2. * 470. £ Pazin, 7 km E Town Museum
(4 miles). @ only during school Church of St Michael (Sv. Mihovil) Ulica 1 svibnja. Tel (052) 852 477.
year; contact Pazin (060) 306 040. in the cemetery has early 15th- Open May–Sep: 10am–1pm & 5–7pm
n Franine i Jurine 14, Pazin, (052) 622 century frescoes. (Jul & Aug: 6–8pm) Mon–Sat; Oct–Apr:
460. ∑ central-istria.com/gracisce
7am–2pm Mon–Fri (by appt).
This small village stands on a hill u Labin
among woods and vineyards. It Map B3. * 12,000. @ Ulica 2, marta, Environs
was once a strong military garri- (060) 333 888. n Aldo Negri 20, (052) About 4 km (2 miles) from Labin
son, and the second line of 855 560. _ Classical music concerts is Rabac, a popular seaside resort.
defence for the Venetian Republic (Jul–Aug). ∑ rabac-labin.com
and the Habsburg empire. The
town has some interesting build- The old part of Labin is made
ings, such as the 15th-cen tury up of the medieval part inside
Salamon Palace and the Bishop’s the walls, and the part from
Chapel (both in Venetian Gothic the Venetian period around Tito
style) where the bishop of Pićan Square (Titov Trg). Here stand
spent the summer. the 19th-century Town Hall, a
The Church of St Mary 17th-century bastion, a loggia
(Sv. Marije) was consecrated in (1550) and the St Flora gate
1425 and has a barrel vault and (1587) with a Lion of St Mark.
many frescoes. The Romanesque In the square called Stari Trg
Church of St Euphemia lies the Magistrates’ Court (1555)
(Sv. Eufemija) was built in 1383 and in a street leading off the
and renovated in 1864. It still square stands the Gothic
has a wooden crucifix from the Church of the Blessed Mary’s
13th century. The loggia near Birth (Rođenje Marijino), built
the main gate dates from 1549. in the late 14th century. A rose Café in Tito Square, Labin

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