| Regular buses head north from Rovinj towards POREC , Istria's
largest and busiest resort. Another peninsula town with an ordered mesh
of streets that dates from its days as a Roman encampment, Porec's star
historic turn is the Basilica of Euphrasius (Eufrazijeva basilika; daily
7am-8pm; free), a sixth-century Byzantine structure harbouring mosaics
claimed by some experts to be comparable with those at Ravenna. Situated
just off Ljubljanska, in the centre of Porec, the basilica is at the
heart of a religious complex, established by Bishop Euphrasius in 543,
which includes a bishop's palace, atrium, baptistry and campanile. Entry
is through the Atrium , an arcaded courtyard that was heavily restored
in the nineteenth century but still has ancient bits of masonry
incorporated in its walls. Beyond lies the Bishop's Palace (daily
10am-6.30pm; 10kn), a seventeenth-century building harbouring a display
of mosaic fragments which once adorned the basilica floor. To the left
of here is the octagonal Baptistry. The basilica itself is a rather bare
structure, save for the wall mosaics above the altar which are studded
with semi-precious gems, encrusted with mother-of-pearl and emblazoned
everywhere with Euphrasius's personal monogram: he was, it's said, a
notoriously arrogant man. The central part of the composition shows the
Virgin enthroned with Child, flanked by a worldly Euphrasius holding a
model of his church. Underneath are scenes of the Annunciation and
Visitation , the latter surprisingly realistic, with the imaginative
invention of a doltish eavesdropping servant.
Due east of the basilica is ul Dekumanska, which follows the line of the
ancient Roman decumanus (main street) and opens out into a square busy
with street artists and tourist traffic. The Porec Museum at ul
Dekumanska 9 (daily 9am-noon & 4-7pm; 10kn), housed in the Baroque
Sincic Palace, displays Greek and Roman finds from the surrounding area.
Heading south, towards the end of the peninsula, you'll find the
distinctive thirteenth-century Romanesque House , with an unusual
projecting wooden balcony - a venue for art shows. Further on is Trg
Marafor , with its remains of Roman temples to Mars and Neptune. Little
is known about these and they're not much more than heaps of rubble
really, the interesting parts having found their way into the town
museum.
The beaches around the old town can get crowded. As an alternative, take
a boat from the jetty next to the Marina (7am-midnight every 30min;
14kn) to the island of Sveti Nikola across the water, or walk south
beyond the marina where pathways head along a rocky coastline shaded by
gnarled pines.
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from $80.00
USD