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...
Discover this hilltop settlement with our Motovun travel guide, with great things to do, restaurants, bars, hotels, shopping and more...
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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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 sits on the line from Poreč to Rijeka (about one hour from Rijeka). The twice-daily Pula-Buzet line drops off at Motovun, as does the Zagreb-Buzet...
The Motovun forest is packed with truffles, early each morning in season the men and their dogs go searching. The black variety is found in Spring, whilst the...
A short drive from Motovun, this renowned and formal restaurant is the base for an entire industry centred around a world-record event ten years ago. It was...
Motovun has just the one hotel but there’s an increasing number of private villas, houses and rooms to rent, from the basic and clean bookable by the night to...
Motovun is the perfect base for exploring Istria and this is the perfect house to stay in while you’re doing so. Beautifully restored over the last five years...
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