Motovun's Main Square

Motovun's Main Square in Croatia, called Trg Andrea Antico, is the open space at the top of the hill on which the town stands, and it is the best place to feel the character of this famous Istrian hill town. The square is named after Andrea Antico, a Renaissance music printer who was born in Motovun, known in Italian as Montona, around 1480, and who became one of the pioneers of printed music in Venice and Rome. It is a fitting name for a town that has produced a film festival, a literary tradition and a good many artists.

The square is a paved, slightly sloping space ringed by the buildings that made up the centre of medieval Motovun. On one side stands the Church of St. Stephen, an early 17th-century parish church that tradition connects with the great architect Andrea Palladio, with a plain, harmonious façade and a bell tower that rises beside it. The tower, a much older defensive structure, can be climbed for views. Facing it is the Communal Palace, a Romanesque and Gothic building from the 13th and 14th centuries with a stone staircase and arched windows, which is among the largest and best-preserved civic buildings of the period in Istria. Nearby are traces of the town's loggia and the old well, and a corner of the town walls begins at the edge of the square.

The walls are the other highlight. A path along the ramparts runs almost all round the town, and from it you look out over the Mirna River valley, with its patchwork of vineyards, fields and woods, the Motovun Forest below, and the hills beyond, a view that has earned comparisons with Tuscany. On clear mornings, mist fills the valley and the town floats above it, which is a famous sight for photographers. The Viewpoint at the Town's Tower and the Motovun Town Walls are both within a few minutes' walk.

The square comes alive in summer. The Motovun Film Festival, held in late July, fills the town with film fans, and open-air screenings, concerts and wine festivals use the square and the lanes around it. In autumn the truffle season brings food lovers to the Truffle Festival, and local cafés and restaurants serve dishes with truffles, fresh pasta, local ham and the Istrian red wine Teran. Between events, the square is quiet, and a coffee at a table in the shade of the church is one of the pleasures of the town.

Cars are not allowed in the upper town, so you park at the foot of the hill and walk or take the shuttle. The square suits couples, photographers and food lovers. Go early or late to avoid the crowds.