We came to the Istrian peninsula via Trieste and Koper, and drove down the west coast of the peninsula to Rovinj, our base for several days. On the way we stopped in the beautiful small town of Porec, which boasted a small basilica rich with mosaics, reminding me of Ravenna (which we visited at the end of this trip). I could easily have stayed in Porec, although Rovinj proved charming. Another coastal city, directly across the Adriatic from Venice, Rovinj was at one time ruled by Venice — the area bounced among several countries including the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
From Rovinj we traveled into the interior to visit a number of small hill towns, said to be comparable to Tuscan hill towns, but they were not: the stone was different, the colors different and the weather very different. The hill towns did have great charm. Hum is said to be the world’s smallest village with a municipal government. In the area we also followed the Galgolitic Road, marked with stones with the Galglitic alphabet.
