July 27, 2020 – Last year, the City of Poreč implemented a project to adapt the Euphrasian Basilica for people with disabilities. Next year, they plan to implement more similar projects. In this way, they work on strengthening and encouraging inclusive tourism, which aims to bring the contents of tourist destinations closer to all people, regardless of their abilities.

The USEFALL (UNESCO Site Experience For All) project aims to make the rich UNESCO cultural heritage as accessible as possible for all, regardless of different needs or impaired mobility. In addition to the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, the project also included the New Basilica of St. Apollinaris in Ravenna, the Botanical Garden in Padua, the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice, the Archaeological Site and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia and Diocletian's Palace in Split.

The importance of accessibility and inclusion

According to the City of Poreč website, a non-refundable fund of 100,000 euros has been approved with the USEFALL project to improve access for people with limited mobility at frequent locations within the old town.

Thus, in September 2019, the City of Poreč repaired the stone lining of the Coast of Dr. Ante Šonja, the famous Lungomare promenade. As part of the performed works, a new ramp for people with limited mobility was installed, the promenade was adjusted and arranged, to avoid slipping and remove damage.

„Projects like USEFALL, adaptations of communal equipment for people with disabilities - from facilities on the beaches to crossings and sidewalks, testify to how important accessibility and inclusion are to us,“ says Ajna Temimović from the City of Poreč.

Adaptations for all

In addition to better accessibility for people with mobility difficulties, with this project, the city has taken care of better accessibility of cultural sights for people with visual impairments. Thus, the description of the mosaics of the Euphrasian Basilica, the most significant cultural good of Poreč, was made in the form of an info panel in Braille so that blind people could get the impression of mosaic displays.

In May last year, tourist guides were trained to be able to communicate and interact with visually impaired people.

The famous Mosaics of Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč / Source: Pixabay

The project "I can train too" stands out, with which Poreč got the first gym adapted for people with disabilities. The gym is used and regularly trained by members of the Association of the Disabled Poreč under the expert guidance of members of the Bodybuilding Club "Veli Jože".

Category of urban development

The USEFALL project was shortlisted for the European Commission's RegioStars award.

"Every year, the European Commission awards the RegioStars Award to EU-funded projects that demonstrate excellence and new approaches in the field of regional development, focusing on areas that are crucial for the future of EU regional policy," explains Temimović.

Although this project stands out with its innovation, unfortunately, it did not enter the finals of the competition.

More projects to come

Temimović points out that such endeavors are especially challenging when it comes to cultural goods or facilities located within the zones of cultural and historical units.

"Namely, immovable cultural goods are protected by the Law on Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, so for each construction project on protected cultural sites we need additional permits to perform works," explains Temimović, adding that such special conditions for the protection of cultural goods sometimes hinder their ideas.

Nevertheless, they will re-apply for similar projects in the new financial perspective of the European Union 2021-2027.

"Based on successful cooperation with partners, we will apply for non-refundable funds, which will allow us to capitalize and upgrade the results achieved by the implementation of the USEFALL project," says Temimović.

July 24, 2020 – Tourism takes up 20 percent of Croatian's GDP. When it comes to the most popular tourist destinations, Poreč is near the top in Croatia, along with its surroundings, with record numbers of overnight stays each year. Most people work in tourism there or are directly related to it. Therefore, recognizing the importance of tourism, the City of Poreč has decided to educate children from an early age about that very important sector through a project called “Ambassadors of Modern Tourism“.

This is the first project of its kind in Croatia and the aim is to teach children the key elements of tourism and to prepare them for the tourism of the new age. It is essential to encourage investment in human potential from an early age.

Taking back the interest in tourism

As Ajna Temimović from the City of Poreč explains, in 2018 and 2019, Poreč was named the best city to live in Croatia in the category of medium-sized cities. Big investments in education, sports, and youth have contributed to this.

Poreč is also among the top 5 cities in Croatia with a positive rate of natural increase, but what concerns them is the low interest of young people for working in tourism.

“Unfortunately, there is less and less interest in certain tourist courses and fewer number of children are enrolled in our tourist high school than usual. Therefore, we decided to apply and implement a project aimed precisely at our youngest residents,” says Temimović.

Source: the City of Poreč

In some places, whole families work in tourism and children grow up without the right understanding of what the tourism sector is, why is it important for families, and what is the role of each individual. The focus of the “Ambassadors of Modern Tourism” is to change that by integrating children into the tourist lifestyle.

“The primary goal of this project is to educate children about all aspects important for tourism and the destination in which they live to bring tourism closer to them in a positive way and teach them how to contribute to the development of tourism in their city,” says Temimović, adding that the secondary goal is the promotion of tourist profession from the earliest age.

Learning through workshops

The project is led by the City of Poreč and it is financed by the Hrvatska za djecu foundation. Children from the Kindergarten Radost Poreč, the Summer Camp of the City of Poreč and the Society Naša djeca Poreč are attending workshops within the project.

They are learning about what it means to live in a tourist city, who is a tourist, what are tourists' expectations, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a tourist career.

“The interest proved to be greater than expected, and the children approached the workshops with great enthusiasm. Currently, the workshops are held in three groups with children of preschool age and lower classes of primary school,” explains Temimović.

Source: the City of Poreč

“At first it was interesting for them because they never thought and talked about it. It was something new to them, but the kids are in camp, where they learn through playing games and no one controls whether and what they have learned,” says Sniježana Matejčić, head of the Society Naša djeca Poreč, adding that in this workshop, games are fun, but children are also expected to acquire some knowledge.

A primary school teacher, the group leader, says “the children are most looking forward to the sweets at the end”.

The workshop lasts seven to eight days. In the end, young participants will test the acquired knowledge through a quiz and receive a certificate “Ambassador of Modern Tourism”.

A long-term wish is to expand this idea to the national level to raise awareness of the importance of tourism in Croatia's economy.

Source: the City of Poreč

July 21, 2020 – Traveling during the coronavirus pandemic represents many challenges. One of those challenges is how to take care of infected tourists. In Poreč, Istria, all tourists are provided with care in case they have symptoms of coronavirus. This challenge is overcome by securing organized accommodation for infected tourists, as well as for their families.

Information leaflets

Upon arrival at the accommodation, whether it's a private accommodation, camp or hotel, every tourist receives a leaflet with the phone number to call in case of a suspicion of coronavirus symptoms. The leaflets are provided by Poreč Tourist Board to be as transparent as possible and to inform tourists, which they consider very important. They can also be found on the Poreč Tourist Board website.

"We are working to ensure that our guests are well informed about the situation, starting at the border crossing. Also, we want to assure them that they will have someone to take care of them and have their loved ones taken care of if anything happens when they arrive in the destination,“ says Nenad Velenik, the director of Poreč Tourist Board.

Accommodation near Poreč

All useful information can be found on the leaflet. If a tourist comes to Poreč and notices symptoms of coronavirus, he can follow the instructions explained on the leaflet and contact a doctor. The tourist is given the opportunity to be tested for coronavirus. The on-duty medical team will meet the tourist at their accommodation (so that the tourist suspecting they might be positive move around as little as possible), and they're tested. If the guest is positive to coronavirus, he continues the treatment at the Pula General Hospital.

"The tourist's family can then decide to wait for their return from the hospital, or returning home,“ Velenik explains.

Source: Poreč Tourist Board

If everyone in the household is negative to coronavirus, they can easily cross the border and return home. However, if they want to stay, they have a secure place near Poreč. Thus, people who have been in direct contact with infected people will be accommodated near Poreč.

Care for both tourists and renters

The recommendation of the Croatian Institute of Public Health obliges them to organize accommodation for potential patients. The Poreč Tourist Board director points out, they must „do everything in our power to make tourists feel as safe as possible and return home as happy as possible”.

Apart from tourists, the Tourist Board also takes care of accommodation renters.

"We never leave our renters aside. They always have a community that takes care of the things and, of course, we promptly report all possible changes,“ adds Velenik.

The Tourist Board must protect both themselves and their guests.

“The whole system has done a good job, which may not be seen enough, but the daily misinformation of foreign media about the security situation in Croatia is denied,” says Velenik and adds that they emphasize the fact that Istria has a low rate of illness and death.

This season has been the most demanding one in Croatian history in general, as Velenik describes it.

“I hope we will not have any sick guests at the destination which is a very good opportunity for the future. We are looking to survive this season so that we can do our best in the future to position ourselves and then begin to function normally,” concludes Velenik.

July 20, 2020 – The Poreč Tourist Board expects 35 to 40 percent of last year's traffic and 50 to 60 percent of hotel occupancy compared to last year.

In the middle of July in Poreč, Istria marks the beginning of the peak of the tourist season, but this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are far fewer tourists than in 2019. However, despite the worse situation compared to last year's record year, in the past month, the city of Poreč in Istria has recorded a significant increase in the number of tourists. As the director of Poreč Tourist Board Nenad Velenik said, at the beginning of June there were only 500 guests in the city, while on July 19 they have 15,000 guests, and that number is growing every day. From the beginning of the year to the middle of July, 400,000 overnight stays were realized in Poreč, which is approximately 28 percent compared to last year.

Private accommodation safest

Velenik adds that they expect "between 35 and 40 percent of tourist traffic compared to 2019 that was a record year in which we recorded 3.5 million tourist overnight stays“. He considers this a solid result, not a good one.

Poreč is among the top destinations in Croatia in terms of tourist overnight stays. As Ajna Temimović from the City of Poreč explains, together with the municipalities of Tar-Vabriga, Funtana, and Vrsar, which naturally gravitate to Poreč, about 10 million overnight stays a year are realized on the 70-kilometer-long coast, which makes up almost 10 percent of Croatian tourism. This year, the leading places are the ones in the safest conditions, which are private accommodation. It gives guests much more privacy and security which is very important at the moment. This is followed by overnight stays in camps, and then hotels that are gradually opening their doors and filling up as the peak of the season approaches.

"Today, Poreč is primarily a hotel destination and they felt the biggest change,“ Temimović notes.

"We plan to have hotels between 50 and 60 percent full by the end of the tourist season compared to last year, which is an excellent result,“ says Velenik. This result is expected if the epidemiological conditions allow it and if there is no re-closure of borders.

Favorable conditions

"We must take into account that Istria as a region is already positioned in our emitting markets,“ Velenik points out.

Poreč, but also the whole Istria are the closest destinations with the warm sea for tourists from Europe. Their guests come by car, mostly from Germany, followed by guests from Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Italy.

“Certainly, the biggest role is played by the fact that Istria is a traditional car destination, but a great contribution is given by quality work, preparation and communication with many regular guests. All emitting markets have put Croatia on the green list, except Slovenia. Also, for the markets of Russia, Ukraine and Great Britain, guests have no problems accessing Croatia and local facilities,” says Tamimović.

When favorable epidemiological conditions are added to all this, Istria is a destination that guests still want to visit.

“Those are our comparative advantages,” Velenik explains.

Source: Poreč Tourist Board

Also, all restaurants are open. Some of the caterers are recording even 65 percent of the last year’s traffic, which is better than what is expected for this year in July.

“The ones who found their niche worked well last year and this year. The ones who did not, unfortunately, will suffer this year, just like the rest of us”, explains Velenik, adding that we’re all in this pandemic together.

As Temimović explains, “good results are certainly recorded by holiday villas, but also by all those who have attracted guests with the quality of their offer”.

She adds that Poreč has provided a total of 12 relief measures to help its businessmen during limited or prohibited work caused by a coronavirus, such as write-offs for renting terraces or business spaces.

Tourists must enjoy the destination

In this whole situation, the positive thing is that the waiters can be more dedicated to the guests, which is extremely important at this point. On the other hand, tourists can currently enjoy the cultural manifestations in Poreč that epidemiological measures allow. Those are concerts of classical music in the Euphrasian Basilica every Friday and jazz concerts every Wednesday in Bar Lapidarium, whose capacities are 30 to 40 people at a sufficient social distance.

“I notice that the guests are happy to come and praise the fact that we adhere to the measures and that they have an exclusive. The concerts are top-notch and the guest has an exclusive viewing of it. It's not overcrowded. A few bright tones and moments in this misfortune”, says Velenik.

The atmosphere in Poreč is relatively lively, even though the dynamic of life in the city has changed. Poreč has always been a city of numerous events, but this year it was temporarily suspended.

“It is felt that the habits of tourists have also changed, that today they may be looking for some different content, avoiding larger gatherings,” says Temimović.

Transparency and improvement

In addition to the quality catering and cultural offer, the Tourist Board makes sure that their guests are well-informed. The Poreč Tourist Board is working hard to ensure the safety of tourists. Their goal is for tourists, regardless of the pandemic, to enjoy what the destination has to offer.

Despite the 2020 crisis, Poreč has managed to realize one of the largest capital projects that is the arrangement of part of the city waterfront. They are also planning to arrange the rest of the old town core, but also the rest of Poreč and its surroundings.

“Of course, the plans from the beginning of the year had to be adjusted, but the City will do everything it can, within its capabilities, to maintain the achieved social, communal and social standards, which is why it has been declared the city with the best quality of life in Croatia in its category”, Temimović concludes.

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As Barbara Ban/Novac writes on the 28th of April, 2020, regardless of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the popular Istrian city of Porec continued to refurbish part the Porec waterfront, continuing with an investment worth as much as 26 million kuna.

Although this is an enormous investment which covers as much as seven thousand square metres in total, which was unfortunately started at the worst possible time - before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis that has hit the economy of Istria, including that of Porec, the city authorities decided to see the Porec waterfront project through to the end. The project marks the most significant public investment in the old city centre in the last ten years.

''The works were slowed down for a while because we couldn't get the materials we needed, but now everything is back on track and I believe we'll be done in June. And in regard to the horticulture side of things, everything should be completed by July the 1st, 2020.

The original plan for the opening of the Porec waterfront opening was set for June the 1st. We were also slowed down by archaeological works where an ancient vessel which is over two thousand years old was discovered, but also by the fact that our contractor was from Slovenia, so the fact that border crossings were implied slowed down the entire story. But, we've still been working constantly,'' said the Mayor of Porec, Loris Persuric.

Workers have been busy installing stone slabs, and concrete road is being gradually laid... Before that, completely new infrastructure was erected underground, and when the finishing touches were completed, interesting benches, candelabras, light installations with signposts for monuments and tourist attractions were set to follow. Booths/stands will be removed from this part of the waterfront and boaters will be provided with unified booths for the sale of their respective tourist excursions. There will be no parking spaces on this part of the Porec waterfront.

''We wanted our waterfront to become a kind of living room to bring the citizens and guests of Porec back to the waterfront,'' said the Mayor of Porec. There are currently no tourists who would otherwise be walking along this part of the city, so everything is running very smoothly.

''We've only been in this situation for two months and we expect the situation to normalise. It will not be as safe as it all was before, but I believe that we'll all adapt and tourism will start again. When tourism is fully operational in Croatia, I think Istria has an edge over everyone else because it's a destination that can easily be driven to. Tourists who arrive by air represent Istria's tourism figures by six to seven percent. We have a pool of one million guests within a five-hour drive. That was our advantage before, and I believe it will be now. I believe that we'll push through this year and that by July and August, the situation will improve a little. However, when it comes to the question of whether or not it will be as good as last year, we can't be certain. If time serves us and if nothing else happens on the global market, I believe that we'll get something out of this season,'' stated Porec's mayor optimistically.

However, this will be the strangest Croatian tourist season ever since there will not be a single event or manifestation being put on.

''We've cancelled all of the events - from Vinistra to Porec Open Air. Of course, we also expect that our budget will suffer, because there won't be as many employees as there used to be in Porec. Last year, five thousand workers came here from all over Istria. Although the city budget is estimated at 300 million kuna, it will be at a mere 40 to 50 percent of last year's amount of 270 million kuna. And that will also be the case for all other local governments. This means that we'll have to give up a lot, and we've already reduced the wage bill by 17 percent in April,'' said Persuric.

Over recent years, intensive investments have been made in new schools, kindergartens, roads, sewage, irrigation, beaches... Parts of those projects are funded by European Union funds, but not all of them, like the Porec waterfront itself.

''As we're one of the most developed cities in the Croatian framework according to the criteria of the European Union, we couldn't access EU funding for this project. So, we just decided to do it on our own. It will be arranged through 15 phases, and projects are being prepared for each phase. They're all in different stages of preparation. We'll see what will be the further dynamics of the Porec waterfront landscaping will be once this crisis passes, but we certainly won't give up on it,'' said Porec's mayor.

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Mach 13, 2020 - Valamar, the largest hotel company in Croatia, has decided to temporarily close its hotels in Porec, Rabac, and Dubrovnik due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

Valamar decided to close its hotels in Porec, Rabac, and Dubrovnik temporarily, following the recommendation of the competent authorities and the decision of the County of Istria, which restricted public gatherings, closed schools and kindergartens and restricted use of public spaces, reports Index.hr and T.portal.

The Valamar Riveria Administration's statement is transmitted below in its entirety:

"Following the recommendations of the competent authorities and the decision of the County of Istria, which restricted public gatherings, closed schools and kindergartens and restricted the use of public spaces, Valamar decided to temporarily close the Diamond Hotel in Porec and Sanfior in Rabac. After the crisis headquarters stepped up border controls yesterday for nationals of Germany, Austria and other countries, we also decided to close the Lacroma and Argosy hotels in Dubrovnik.

There is no suspicion or occurrence of COVID-19 in Valamar hotels, but we are not able to provide the guests with the desired level of security, quality of service and experience of the destination in this situation. Given the closure of the schools and kindergartens, we have decided to stand behind our parents first and foremost, so Valamar employees will be on a collective vacation until the end of March. We believe that the National Headquarters is managing this unusual situation very well and it is only responsible to follow their recommendations and decisions with the common goal of preventing this as much as possible.

Tourism is a very important industry, so Valamar will continue to work closely with the competent authorities so that we can continue with preparations for the tourist season as soon as possible.”

The number of cases of coronavirus in Croatia rose from 27 to 31 overnight, Health Minister Vili Beros announced at a 9 am press conference in Zagreb.

There were two new cases in Istria, bringing the total there to 6, and two more in Zagreb, bringing the total to 12. the two Zagreb patients were from the close circle of existing patients, while one of the Istrian cases had returned from Italy, and the other had been in contact with someone from Zagreb who had returned to Switzerland. 

In addition to the daily TCN briefing, you can follow all aspects of TCN's coronavirus coverage in the dedicated COVID-19 section by clicking here. 

Just a few weeks ago, we reported on the amazing archaeological discoveries found in the popular Istrian city of Porec. Istria, much like the rest of the Croatian coast which has seen the arrival of Romans, Venetians and more, is rich with history just waiting to be stumbled upon.

As Morski writes on the 3rd of March, 2020, works on the development of the waterfront in Porec are continuing to proceed as expected, and more new archaeological discoveries are coming to the light of day as the works go on.

Thus, as was reported, the remains of a waterfront from the fifteenth century, from the period when all the Gothic palaces in the City of Porec were built, have been discovered. As far as Porec is concerned, this is reportedly one of the most important findings in the last ten years, because now, after many assumptions, they now have concrete evidence of Roman, Venetian and Austrian lines of the Porec waterfront.

In addition, the remains of old Roman vessel were discovered recently in front of the Danelon Palace, popularly called the Kompas building. Archaeologists assume that it is a smaller vessel crafted in a technique characteristic of the northeastern Adriatic, that is, the area of ​​historical Histria and Liburnia. The find has been provisionally protected, and the level of conservation, its dimensions and other details will be published after an archaeological survey has been completed, in one month's time at the earliest.

It was expected that the works on the Porec waterfront would result in the discovery of new archeological sites even before they began, and that during the conservation supervision and probing at the foreseen sites, certain parts and phases of construction works would have to be adapted as things progressed. So far, the deadlines and the dynamics of their implementation haven't been in conflict with each other and there have been no delays.

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February 18, 2020 - Valamar Riviera, the Poreč Sports Community and the City of Poreč, have signed an agreement allowing the city's citizens and sports clubs to use the future pool facilities in the new Pical Zone. 

HRTurizam writes that the agreement continues the successful cooperation so far at the Valamar Diamant 4* Hotel, and makes a large indoor pool and an outdoor tidal pool available to the city and the Sports Community as part of the future Pinea Hotel in the Pical Zone. Thus, with the completion of the investment in 2021, the City of Poreč will receive significantly better conditions for the operation of sports clubs and recreation of citizens. The large indoor pool will be 25 meters long with five swimming lanes, while the outdoor tidal pool will be 50 meters long.

"With the construction of the Pinea Hotel in the new Pical Zone, Poreč, for the first time, is receiving a large indoor five-lane swimming pool, which will be open year-round and, as such, will be of particular importance to athletes and recreational people as well as citizens. We are pleased to provide top athletes with even better conditions for training water sports,” said Andrea Štifanić, Director of the Property Management and General Affairs Division at Valamar Riviera.

"Through this cooperation between the City, the Sports Community and Valamar, citizens will have the opportunity to use the pool. We are aware of the importance of this kind of sports infrastructure for many recreational athletes and athletes and will include it in our investment plan, of course, when addressing priority infrastructure projects such as kindergarten construction, waterfront construction, roads or housing subsidies,” said Poreč Mayor Loris Peršurić.

“By agreeing on the use of the swimming pool at the Pinea hotel, our swimmers and water polo players will have the opportunity to train better throughout the year in our City, and therefore, we expect an increase in the interest of children and young people to participate in these sports actively. Improving training conditions will certainly result in better sports results. Certainly, new opportunities for recreational water sports are being created. We are extremely pleased about the successful cooperation with Valamar Riviera, which has been following the sporting activities and successes of our member clubs and athletes for a long time,” said Alfredo Mendiković, President of the Sports Community of the City of Poreč.

Valamar plans to invest around 1.5 billion kuna in the Pical zone, which will make it one of the most attractive tourist zones in Croatia. In addition to 20,000 m2 of beaches, the citizens of Poreč will have a four-kilometer circular path for outdoor activities such as jogging and cycling and a 10-kilometer promenade.

Pinea Hotel will be positioned as a luxurious five-star hotel, will have the largest hotel event center in Istria, and a full offer for active holidays throughout the year, where in addition to swimming, there will be numerous other sports and recreational facilities for tourists and citizens.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 12, 2020 - Aquacolors Porec adrenaline aquatic park has been recognized in Monte Carlo as the best commercial swimming pool project in Europe in 2019.

Namely, Glas Istre reports that SCP, the world's largest distributor of swimming pools and pool equipment, had declared the newly built aquatic complex in the Porec the best commercial swimming pool project in Europe in 2019.

The SCP Award, considered the most prestigious award in the pool and wellness industry, is given to projects by its business partners, in this case, BK Mont from Pazin and Archetype 21 from Porec. Porec architects conceptually conceived and designed the aquatic complex project, which was subsequently implemented by BK Mont. They are working on the latest attraction that Aquacolors will premiere in the coming season, which has been ongoing for about ten months and employs seventy people.

The whole story started with the initiative of the Croatian team of SCP group, that is SCP Adriatica, which nominated this Pored project for an award. This company is the main distributor of the SCP group for the Eastern Europe region, and apart from Croatia, they are particularly interested in the markets of Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, where they intend to expand more intensively in the coming period. SPC Adriatica Managing Director Lado Lacen is most responsible for the implementation of these plans.

Aquacolors officially opened in May of 2015 and stretches across 100,000 m2, which includes a 500-meter lazy river, playgrounds and sports courts, 500 sqm children’s pool, 13 water slides, five restaurants, and aa 1500 sqm wave pool. The water park welcomes around 5,000 visitors during the summer each day. 

Aquacolors, which is also Croatia’s largest water park, was ranked among the top 20 in TripAdvisor’s 2019 Travelers Choice Awards. Namely, Aquacolors came in 18th in the Top 25 Water Parks in Europe.

Aquacolors Porec is open in May, June, July, August, and September. 

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

As Morski writes on the 9th of February, 2020, an interesting new archaeological site was discovered during the reconstruction of the City of Porec's picturesque waterfront.

Archaeologists are now monitoring the entire area in which the works are being carried out, and after discovering a remarkable Venetian waterfront and the remains of an ancient port, a new site was found at a depth of four metres below what is today's walking level, more specifically two metres below sea level near a round tower.

According to Klaudija Bartolic Sirotic, an archaeologist at the National Museum of the City of Porec, one square structure was found with different reinforcements belonging to it. The assumption is that this is a fortification system of the City of Porec since it is located near a round tower that was built way back in 1474. Further and more in depth research will seek to clarify how this system of medieval fortification spread.

It is interesting to note that in the lower part of the site, free blocks believed to be from Roman times were discovered, which were used secondarily to strengthen the structure of the existing tower, while at the very bottom, a block believed to be of Roman production was also discovered. In addition, numerous other finds, such as alfalfa and amphorae, were found in various forms which were typical of the Age of Antiquity.

So far, no residue of organic material have been observed at the site, so further analysis of the detected samples will provide more detailed data. Based on just a few blocks, Bartolic Sirotic points out, it is difficult to determine the exact time of construction, but the deposited material here points to the 1st century. If it is a Roman structure that was upgraded during the Middle Ages, more will be known after the eastern face of the wall is opened.

Upon completion of the survey, the site, in agreement with the conservationists and the City of Porec, will be archaeologically protected and adequately presented to the public.

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