February 10th, 2022 - Surely one of the most charming cultural attractions in Croatia, the museum dedicated to Rovinj’s traditional 'batana' boats is set to reopen after a two-year renovation

The award-winning House of Batana in Rovinj closed its doors in late 2019 so that the building could undergo a series of renovation works. As reported by TCN at the time, the attraction was set to transform into a 21st-century museum and get a new exhibit that was to be fully digitized.

Two years later, the museum has got a new facade and fixtures, and the only thing left to do is for the new permanent exhibit to be installed in its place. If all goes according to plan, the attraction is supposed to reopen in April 2022, reports Morski.hr.

In 2016, the Batana Ecomuseum project was inscribed in the UNESCO’s World Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. It was recognised for its unique approach to preservation of the tangible and intangible heritage of Rovinj, based on local initiatives and expert-led development projects. Read more about the old exhibit in our dedicated feature.

The traditional wooden vessel gets its name after the Italian verb battere (hit, beat), associated with the sound of waves hitting the flat bottom of the boat. The batana was entered in the Register of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Croatia in 2008.

The renovation of the museum building cost around 2 million kuna. The equipment and the multimedia fixtures were partially funded through the project Culturecovery Interreg Central Europe, whereas the project Arca Adriatica Interreg Italy-Croatia helped finance the graphic design and multimedia.

Revamped and fully modernised, the House of Batana is supposed to open its doors at the end of April, and visitors can look forward to a number of new attractions; for example, old traditions of Rovinj and its natural heritage will be presented through the use of VR. The new exhibition will tell the story of batana and Rovinj-Rovigno in a modern and inspiring way, pushing its own boundaries and opening new horizons.

The objects from the original permanent exhibit were restored in cooperation with the Rovinj Civic Museum.

November 21, 2019 - The Batana Ecomuseum in Rovinj is moving into a more modern direction, which should be ready for visitors to experience by next summer. 

In 2016, the Batana Ecomuseum project was included in the UNESCO Register, and just a few months ago, it was decorated with the exceptional European Destination of Cultural Tourism in the category of intangible cultural heritage, taking first place. Today, however, the museum is under construction. But we promise they have a good reason. Glas Istre tells us more. 

“In particular, in the same dimensions, the old setup is changing one hundred percent, which will not only be different and modern by the next tourist season, but also be fully digitized,” Batana Association President Nives Giuricin revealed.

Namely, the Batana Ecomuseum, which, fifteen years ago, was and remained one of the exemplary examples of the appearance and function of smaller museums, for which it has received numerous Croatian and foreign awards over the past decade, is transforming into a 21st-century museum. For example, visitors will have the opportunity to "jump" from the cliff of Katarina into the sea with the help of 3D glasses, or go night fishing with a batana boat. All this, just like in the first museum exhibition, was designed by the architect Alexander Paris, and financially supported by numerous local and foreign investors.

The whole project is worth more than HRK 1.5 million, and, in addition to the funds from the Association and the City of Rovinj, the money was also obtained from the Ministry of Culture, as well as EU funds, explains Giuricin, who added that the previous exhibitions could still be seen at various locations. 

“As for the new museum exhibit, the deadline is by the next tourist season, or June,”  the president of the Association said, who added that in parallel, work is also being done on a ‘spacio’, or local tavern, on Švalbina Street.

“With the transformation of the Museum, at the end of this or the beginning of next year, we will also enter Švalbina Street, in which we have rented eighty square meters necessary for the spacio. It is an ideal space which, in addition to its size, has another attractive advantage - the possibility to access the batana boats via the outdoor and open terrace,” revealed the new president of the Batana House Association, Nives Giuricin.

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At the annual session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO which was held from 28 November to 2 December in Addis Ababa, the Rovinj Batana Ecomuseum has been included in the register of best practices in preserving the intangible and cultural heritage of the world, reports HRTurizam on 16 December 2016.