Travel Experiences: Rovinj, Croatia
Travelling through Croatia, you are met with unsurpassed beauty that haunts you long after you return home. This is what I found when I toured around Croatia. I was fortunate enough to be able to explore every inch of this tourism-unscarred country.
On the way to Pula, I made the 22 mile (35km) detour so that I could stay in Rovinj for a few days. When I arrived, I smiled at how pretty the town is. The houses seem to cluster around the hill of a former island. Once I dropped off my bags at my lovely little hotel and freshened up, I set off exploring Rovinj.
As an archaeologist and professional researcher, I am in love with everything to do with history; I devoured Rovinj for its historic and cultural attractions. My first stop was the Church of St. Tommaso, which is a small art gallery now. It dates from sometime in the Medieval period but had experienced renovation in 1722. I was told to watch out for falling bricks as I walked under the beautiful arched hall and I was quite lucky as seconds before I walked under one part, a piece actually fell where I would have stood!
I also visited the Aquarium, a place I always like to go. This aquarium is home to some amazing tanks of Adriatic marine life. It was opened in 1891, making it one of the oldest aquariums throughout Europe.
I’m not a Christian but I do like the architecture of churches, so I paid a visit to the Crkva Sv Eufemije, the Church of St. Euphemia. This is an 18th century baroque church where the remains of Rovinj’s patron saint are said to lie in a sarcophagus dating from the 6th century. She was maryred in 304 CE but her tomb vanished in 800 Ce and it is said that it was washed out to sea where it appeared on the shores of Rovinj.
Another site I saw in my very limited time here in Rovinj, I saw the Balbi Arch which is located in the main square of the Old Town. You can see a Turkish head on one side and a Venetian lion on the other. The lion relief dates from the 16th century but the arch itself was constructed in 1907 but is beautiful to look at. At the top are the two Balbi coats of arms and a Latin epigraph.
Unfortunately I only had this one day before I had to carry on to Pula. However, I wish I had more time to visit here as Rovinj was an extraordinarily beautiful town and had much more to show me than what I was able to see.
Written by Lysianassa