Thanks to its rich history, whose traces can still be found from ancient times, a very favorable climate, and exceptional natural beauty integrated into a unique combination of green interior and azure blue Adriatic coast, Vodnjan and its surroundings will delight you with its charm and cultural heritage, as well as a diverse range of activities. Find here ideas for your holiday, whether it is an active or a family vacation, a summer vacation during the sunniest months, or a quiet and relaxing holiday in spring or autumn.
Vodnjan/Dignano is a little town situated in the southwest of Istria, 11,7 kilometers from Pula, at an elevation of 135 meters. It is an area of ancient traditions developing on the remnants of the prehistoric forts that have existed in the broader area since ancient times. Vodnjan/Dignano managed to maintain its outstanding characteristics of a Medieval urban and rural centre, so that today it resembles a man with a rich history. Its vast area with innumerable characteristic kažuni or casite (little stone houses) built in the technique of dry-stone walls denoting property stands as witness to a millennium of its inhabitants being engaged in agriculture, especially olive-growing and wine-growing as the basis of their material prosperity.
Read about our experiences in Vodnjan:
Punta Greca is the southernmost tip of the Istrian peninsula where wine is grown. It is one of such places on Earth where you want to go to forget everything, take several cases of books, buy some cheese along the way, and care for the vines for the rest of your life. No, we weren’t at the Punta Greca (we wouldn’t write this ‘cos we’d be willingly stranded on this cape), but we were at the owner of the vineyard there. It is the Medea winery, one of the Istria’s finest. It is not the Punta Greca, but the jolly company of the winery, headed by the managers Sandra Marček Cvitić and Samanta Benčić, as well as the prime oenologist Marko Krstačić, greeted us in the brand-new tasting room.
A wine maker is looking at us from the wall. And the lady from the window, as well as the carpenter, cooper, olive oil producer, peasant, the lady in waiting, carrier and so many other characters taken out from the historical oblivion of Vodnjan. It is a permanent exhibition wall of the restaurant Vodnjanka, a testimony of the town-village divide in an area characterised by both Croatian and Italian influences. The remnants of these stories are carried further in the authentic Istrian meals by which this restaurant is famous for. No wonder, then, that Vodnjanka is always on the list of the Gastronaut's 100 Leading Croatian Restaurants.
In the peaceful alley of the Vodnjan’s Babos neighbourhood there is a family winery bearing the same name. Mother Lorella comes from the Vodnjan’s family Giacometti, while father Gugliemo Moscarda is from the neighbouring place of Galižana. Together they blend continuation of at least one century old family traditions of wine making and olive growing, despite also traditional enmity between Vodnjan and Galižana. Their sons Matteo and Luca are oenologists and work diligently for the family’s estate. All of them have met us with bright smile behind massive wooden doors that led from summer heat to the cool premises of the winery’s courtyard and gorgeous tasting room.
In midst of a beautiful and sunny autumn, our team found the rainiest day to visit the vineyards around Vodnjan. While the celestial greyness pours down the rain on the red earth with all its force, we drive through the vineyards at the Teraboto site. Izabela Vitasović drives us through them, who with her husband Dario takes care of these vines and skillfully creates them for the wine pleasure of the Teraboto winery. Through the rain, vines of Malvasia, Merlot, Teran, Muscat can be seen, and here and there we are shown some kažun between the rows of vines.
A beautiful family business awaits everyone visiting the town of Vodnjan, usually known for the excellent extra-virgin olive oil. There is olive oil here too, of course, but the family Buršić is known for its superb prosciutto, sausages, and other dry meat products. Several generations work at an estate that was once the family’s farm and today it hosts a large restaurant, prosciutto tasting room, beautiful small olive grove, and dry-meat production. Every year, the Buršić family also organises the “Days of Špaleta”, a unique reminder on this almost forgotten meal.
The area is very rich in culinary history, combining the urban habits of Vodnjan's ladies and the rural riches in the areas of Vodnjan, Galižana, Peroj, and Barbariga.
Tourist board of Vodnjan Narodni trg 3, Vodnjan tz-vodnjan-dignano@pu.t-com.hr 00385 (0)52 511 700 www.vodnjandignano.com