Loredan Palace, Rakalj

Rakalj is a small village in southeastern Istria in Croatia, in Istria County and the municipality of Marčana, close to Raša Bay and the cape of St. Nicholas, in a landscape of low hills, red soil, olive groves and scrub. It is a quiet place with a few streets and a handful of old buildings, and for several centuries it was the seat of a Venetian noble family, the Loredan. The Loredan Palace, a former residence of that family, is the building that gives the village its historical character.

The Republic of Venice ruled most of Istria for nearly five hundred years, and it granted estates and titles to its patricians, who ran them as feudal lordships. Rakalj passed into the hands of the Loredan family in the 16th century, in the 1530s, and the family held it until the middle of the 19th century. The Loredans were among the most prominent patrician families of Venice, and they produced doges, admirals and statesmen. In a village the size of Rakalj, the arrival of such a lord must have transformed daily life, and the palace was the centre of his authority, with rooms for administration and for the family when it came to stay. The building is a plain, solid structure of local stone, with the proportions of a country palace, and it does not have the ornament of a grand city residence.

The palace is no longer a private seat. It now works as a school, which means that it is not open for interior visits, and visitors should view it from the outside and respect the pupils and teachers. The exterior gives a sense of the architecture of the Venetian period, and it makes a good starting point for a walk through the village. Nearby stand the 15th-century parish church of the Nativity, the ruins of the church of St. Theodore and the church of St. Agnes, from which there is a view toward the Kvarner Gulf. On a hill close to the village, the ruins of an old castle give wide views of the surrounding countryside.

Rakalj has a cultural heritage of its own. It is known for its pottery tradition, and it is the birthplace of the poet Mate Balota, the pen name of Mijo Mirković, whose house is remembered by a museum in the village. Local farms produce olive oil and wine, and the area is good for cycling and quiet walks.

The village suits visitors with an interest in Venetian history, in Istrian literature or in off-the-beaten-track places. A stop of an hour is plenty.