Beautiful Motovun village in the
Istrian peninsula of Croatia
Written by Dave.
When we entered Croatia, we stopped at a campsite in the Istrian peninsula. It is up a twisty mountain road, and it’s called Motovun. We had never heard of it before, but as it turns out it is one of the most visited “hilltop villages” on the Istrian peninsula. But few people stay there. It is really more of a day trip place, with world famous truffles. Not chocolate truffles, much to Luie’s disappointment, but those of the fungal kind.
The campsite we are staying at is halfway up the mountain. There is another 1.2 km hike to get up to the village. It is a fairly steep hike up uneven steps and rough cobblestone roads, but with beautiful views.
As you hike up to the village, you pass through old buildings with quite an Italian feel.
Take a look at these roads. The locals actually drive them. The pictures don’t do justice to how steep they are, but I wouldn’t be driving them. There are many interesting old cars around town.
You can again see the uneven roads that are difficult to walk. You really need to watch your step as the rocks are smooth also and easy to slip on. It is such a beautiful, quaint village.
The views from the top are stunning! 360 degree views of the countryside that provided a degree of safety in times past.
Through town you are greeted with signs for free tasting of the local truffles, truffle oil, and local brandy.
This is the main entrance into the village. Various stone tablets, crests, and depictions of lions are on display on the walls.
We learned that once upon a time, the Istrian peninsula was part of Venice. That is why there are many depictions of lions throughout the town. The lion is the symbol of Venice, and so it was used here also.
In this section of town, there are several places to dine. For my birthday, we went out and had fresh made pasta with truffles, and Istrian beef with local vegetables. We also tried the pizza on another visit.
There is a lot of history in this town. We met an Italian couple that explained how the architecture, landscape, and gardening are much like Italy. Each property has trees that produce a crop at different times of the season. This way, they always have some type of fruit to harvest. Seems like a really smart system.
The other thing we noticed was that they don’t spray their fruits or vegetables with chemicals here. You have to watch for worms and bugs, but you also know that everything is basically organic. We are really taking advantage of the fruits and vegetables here.
We are enjoying our time here so far, and even happened upon another movie festival. We never heard of the Motovun Film Festival before, but happened to be here when it occurred. The town was filled with twenty-somethings, and music was flowing down from the mountaintop all night.
The festival is done, and now we are back to quiet times. I love the sound of crickets at night, truly quiet. Except when the truffle hunting dogs get to barking!