IN THE TOWN ON THE CREST OF THE HILL

It's an old town, or something like a village with a well-defined urban structure, situated in the northern part of Istra.

From up - close, while approaching one of the medieval gates that lead to the compact center, it definitively looks like a town ...

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... but from the outside, from the place where I parked my car, it looks more like a small village immersed in the surrounding landscape dominated by forests and fields.

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Only the church tower suggests that there could be something more urban hidden behind the lush vegetation.

In this photograph, I'm walking towards the town, and I'm almost there. If you take a good look, you may notice a small but interesting little temple in the lower right part of the picture. It's the
Church of St. Roch, but before saying something about it ...

... I would like to show you the view from the hill on which I was standing and on which Oprtalj was built.

From here you can take a good look at the landscape in the valley ...

... and you can see some other towns and villages too.

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This is Motovun. A similar but bigger old town that was built long ago on the crest of one of the neighboring hills. I had a great clear view of its urban layout from here.

Here you can see the village of Livade ...

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... in the valley between Motovun and Oprtalj. I drove through it on my way to where I'm currently standing. I mean, where I was standing back then, a couple of weeks ago. 😀 I'm in my old armchair now, in front of the PC screen.

I can't enjoy this drone - view every day ...

... so I spent half an hour or so observing the surrounding landscape ...

... that looked like a nice, relaxing tapestry made of woods, fields, and small settlements scattered across those green surfaces. And now ...

... is time to say a few more words about the small church that I mentioned before the scenic detour.

The Church of St. Roch was built in the 14th century. The loggia in front of the main building was added three centuries later. The church is situated along the main road that leads to the gate of the old town. I will continue that way, but a bit later.

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In this photograph, I'm approaching Oprtalj across the narrow belt of fields behind the town.

 source:https://hive.blog/hive-178708/@borjan/in-the-town-on-the-crest-of-the-hill