Motovun (Italian: Montona), a village and municipality in Croatia, in the County of Istria. The best preserved is the medieval Istrian fortress, which developed on top of a steep hill. In prehistoric times, Illyrian and Celtic tribes built their fortifications on the site of today's Motovun. Its name is also of Celtic origin, and is derived from the word Montona, meaning town on the mountain.
The history of Motovun begins before Roman times, when
they built their settlement Sekusi, a Celtic tribe.
Motovun
consists of three parts of the city. At the very top is the oldest
part, below it is "Podgrađe", and the newer part of "Gradiciol"
descends down the slope. The town has preserved its medieval
appearance to this day.
Motovun's defense consisted of two
rings of walls. The inner ring around the oldest part of the city
dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. The inner gates of the city
lead through it. Around Podgrađe was the second ring of the city
walls, which is entered through the outer city gate from the 15th
century. There is a lapidary in them today. Between the two gates is
the outer town square. In the square, next to the inner door, is the
town lodge from the 17th century, a beautiful lookout point to the
surroundings.
The central square of Andrea Antia is named
after the Renaissance composer and music printer, born in Motovun in
the second half of the 15th century. On the square is the baroque
church of St. Stjepana, built in 1614 on the site of an older
church. Next to the church is a bell tower-tower from the 13th
century, with jagged parapets, when the first church was built and
on whose foundations the present one was built. Little is known that
in the same place in late antiquity was an early Christian basilica,
even larger than today's church of St. Stephen.
Opposite the
church is the Communal Palace, built in the 12th century, and
expanded and restored in the 16th and 17th centuries. Below the
square is a large cistern that supplied water to Motovun. The ascent
of 1052 stairs leads to the top of Motovun, which makes it the
longest staircase in Croatia.
The Parenzana railway passed
through Motovun, which gave the place a good connection with Poreč
in the west and with Slovenia and Italy in the north. The station is
preserved and is located at the foot of the hill on which the old
part of town is located, just before entering the so-called Motovun
tunnel.
Church of the Blessed
Virgin Mary "of the Gates": Built in 1520. The name of the church is
associated with a painting with the image of the Mother of God kept
on a marble altar, built almost in the middle of the church.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared on a tree that was
exactly where the altar is located today.
Polesini Palace: It
was built by the family of the Marquis of Polesini, dates from the
16th century, and today it is a hotel. Opposite the building is the
neck of a cistern from 1322, with a carved lion of St. Marko, the
oldest lion in the stone after the one in Koper.
City Gate:
In the Renaissance style, it is adorned with the coats of arms of
patrician families. The openings in the parapet have been preserved
to this day, which were used to throw oil, hot tar, stones and other
materials at the enemies who were attacking the city.
Church
of St. Cyprian: It is not dated, but it was certainly reconstructed
in 1855 by the vow of the inhabitants of Motovun, which followed the
cholera epidemic.
City Lodge: On the lower square there is a
lodge, built in 1331. Today, the square is named after Josef Ressel,
the inventor of the propeller who spent part of his life in Motovun.