Trg Slobode (Freedom Square)

Trg Slobode, Freedom Square, is the main square of the old town of Umag, a harbour town at the northwestern tip of Istria, in Croatia, close to the border with Slovenia. It lies a few steps from the harbour bay and forms the social centre of a peninsula-shaped old core that has been inhabited for a very long time.

Umag has Roman roots, and the Latin name of the settlement was Humagum. In the Middle Ages the town became part of the Venetian sphere, and Venice kept control of it until the end of the eighteenth century, which gave the old town its look. The streets are narrow and irregular inside what was once a walled circuit, and houses of Venetian type, with arched doors and balconies, stand beside Renaissance and Baroque buildings. Traces of the old city walls survive here and there. The square is where the street pattern opens out, and it has long been the place where the community gathered for markets, ceremonies and festivals. Its name, Freedom Square, is a twentieth-century one, and it reflects how public spaces across Istria were renamed after political change.

Today the square is lively, in a relaxed, local way. Cafés put tables out under awnings, and shops and small stalls line the edges, selling souvenirs, local products and pastries. Markets and open-air performances are held here through the year, and in summer it fills with people in the evening, when lights come on and the air from the sea cools the stone. Visitors can sit with a coffee or a glass of Istrian wine and watch the passers-by.

The square is an easy base for exploring the rest of the old town. The Umag Municipal Museum, the harbour and the lanes that lead down to the quay are all within a short walk. Beyond the old town is the Umag Marina, a good place for a stroll, and the Stella Maris resort with the tennis stadium that hosts the ATP tournament, known as the Umag Open. Umag’s reputation as a sporting town is strong, and in tournament week the square and the cafés around it are full of fans.

It offers a Croatian small-town atmosphere and suits visitors who like to sample the atmosphere of a small Istrian town without crowds on the scale of Poreč or Rovinj. Go in the evening for the best light and the most animated mood, or early in the morning to see the lanes before they fill. Plan your visit around a local festival or market if you can.