Motovun and Porec

Motovun is a little hill-top town which remains almost totally unchanged from its past. It was a medieval town which later became a Venetian city. In recent years it was almost totally uninhabited, but is now being slowly re-settled by artists and artisans, current population 500.



Here is our first view of the city, seen from the approaching road.

Each city has a cemetery, which stands behind high garden walls, with a grand building acting as the doorway into the cemetery. Lots of tall trees line the walkways and the outer walls. The graves are adorned with bright plastic flowers, making the cemeteries an interesting place to visit and take pictures. The cemetery at Motovun was particularly interesting because of the way it was perched high on the hill along the city walls.

The Venetian lion looks intimidating outside the city gate, but the lion on the inside looks decidedly jovial - a typical Venetian custom.

Here's the nice guy on the inside...

Here is a view of the cemetery from above.

A local spending her afternoon sitting in her doorway...

The next day we went to Porec (which should have a little v-shaped thing over the "c" and is pronounced Poretch.) The city boasts a Byzantine Basilica which was the highlight of our trip, for me. It is known as the Euphrasian Basilica and dates back to the 4th century. It is one of the best examples of Byzantine architecture and mosaics in the Mediterranean (save the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, which I also hope to see.)

The mosaic below is over the gate which leads into the basilica.

Inside the oratorium...

Some of the mosaics...

The basilica is more like a complex or collection of buildings, including a baptistery. The shot below is a view of the baptistery from the garden.

And the bell tower stands above the baptistery.

Some of the mosaics on the outer facade, above the courtyard.

Below is the actual baptismal in the baptistery.

I love the light quality and all the muted colors in these shots...

And finally, these are some shots of Luna with having fun on the dance floor after dinner that night...