In one of Lovely Istria’s many holiday villas near Pazin, Žminj and Sveti Lovreč, you can recharge your batteries and enjoy a truly relaxing holiday. On top of that, there are the delights of Istrian cuisine, olive oils that rank among the world’s best and excellent local wines.
Hill towns and walls
Central Istria is a landscape of hills, fields and small stone villages. Pazin has a medieval castle on the edge of a deep gorge, and that chasm inspired Jules Verne in his novel about Mathias Sandorf. Svetvinčenat has a Renaissance square framed by a castle and a church, where concerts and theatre are staged in summer. Near Kanfanar stand the ruins of the abandoned town of Dvigrad, and Gračišće is an old hill town with narrow streets and a view.
In Beram, not far from Pazin, the church of St Mary on the Rocks holds frescoes, among them the well-known Dance of Death. Kringa is a village known for the legend of the vampire Jure Grando.
Nature and quiet
This part of Istria is green: oak woods, olive groves, vineyards and meadows. Walkers and cyclists find plenty of quiet routes between the villages, and there is little traffic even in season. The sea is far away, so this is an area for those who want a villa with a pool and treat the beach as a day trip.
Where the villas are
Lovely Istria has ten villas in central Istria, in Svetvinčenat, Žminj, Gračišće, Pazin, Kringa, Kanfanar, Laginji and Šivati. The sea is 8 to 20 km from here, most often about 13 km, and the nearest beach 9 to 20 km. The village centre is 790 m to 4.9 km away, most often about 2 km, a restaurant 570 m to 4.7 km, and a shop 850 m to 2.9 km. These distances are measured on the map, as the crow flies, so the actual drive is usually longer.
Food and drink
Central Istria is the home of Istrian cooking: fuži and pljukanci with goulash or truffles, maneštra soup, cured ham, cheeses and olive oil. Boškarin, the Istrian ox, is eaten here too, and the meal goes with Malvazija or Teran from the nearby wineries.