Things to do
Motovun overview
Motovun – Montona to the Romans – is one of the most beautiful and best preserved of Istria’s medieval hilltop settlements. These days it’s best known for...
Motovun – Montona to the Romans – is one of the most beautiful and best preserved of Istria’s medieval hilltop settlements. These days it’s best known for its film festival, which transforms this otherwise sleepy town into a cultural and party hub for one week every summer. It’s on the summit of a277-metre (910-foot) hill in the middle of the Mirna Valley, surrounded by truffle-rich forest.
When the prehistoric settlement was founded, it would have been surrounded by water. The estuary stretched right up to the ‘Gates of Buzet’ at the head of the valley. It was down this inlet that Jason and his Argonauts are supposed to have fled after capturing the Golden Fleece.
From its strategic position, Motovun controlled the merchant routes across the valley floor on the way to the coast. Although depopulated after the Italian exodus in 1945, a new wave of inhabitants, including artists and writers, set up home here. The result is the Motovun Film Festival, started in 1999.
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