At the Sources of Friendship

ISTRIA CROATIA At the sources of friendship This is a bird’s eye view of Funtana, a place that grew up over water springs where Nature has choreographed of one of the most playful scenes of the Istrian landscape. If you take just a quick glimpse of the earth from which this lovely place arose, a green oasis of rare beauty will appear to you, framed by the blue Adriatic, whose regular rectangular division of green fields of the hinterland is the work of an ancient orthogonal system of the Roman centuries. From Zelena laguna (Green Lagoon) in the west to Valkanela Bay on the south, what you will see in front of you is the most indented part of the Istrian peninsula, full of capes, bays, lagoons, islets, shallows, and cliffs. Welcome to the picturesque fishermen’s town that breaths a special charm and the beauty of life at every step. Tailor-made for the common man with one stone palace and a church with a bell tower circled by rows of quiet stony little streets, this place completely and proudly has been a part of the Mediterranean since antiquity. What you have in front of you are tranquil hours of peace and joy at the sources of friendship. Welcome to Funtana! Water means life. And Funtana, whose name comes from the Latin word fons or fonticus, meaning spring, is a place where youAqua can hear the babble of water in its very Vitae name. So what is the story of these springs? If you are here for the first time, ask one of the town’s gentle inhabitants who will be happy to guide you along the main road to the nicely ordered green area close to the sea, where today children like to play and old people rest their eyes staring at the horizon. You are close to Šterna and Perili – the famous water springs of Funtana, after which the town has been named. It is the meeting point of many paths, trampled for centuries by many thirsty, curious souls in need of refreshment. Funtana has more springs than these two, but, right on the sea, they are the most important ones – the ones that blessed Funtana and made it such an important place. Even in antiquity an aqueduct led all the way to the Roman villa in Zelena laguna. There were less happy times when there was a lack of water during which its value could be compared to that of gold, and people from the surrounding area would walk for hours to the springs of Funtana. The importance and value of the water that was carefully transported in barrels and the so-called kaštelanas from the heaven sent springs to distant destinations was shown in the fact that these transactions were frequently protected by military units because, in all honesty, when the springs dried up, water became a priceless treasure without which there was no life. Fragmentum There is a saying that Mediterranean towns live more from their memories Mediterraneumthan other towns and that their history is more important than their present. Each of their stories is a living testament to their long history. Given its modest size, Funtana does not have any large monuments, except for the Borisi palace, known as the Kaštel, and the perfectly whitened Church of St. Bernard, dating from the 17th century. Still, its every corner, stone and jamb has interesting layers of inscriptions from the past. Take a stroll, be curious, explore, peep into the gates and ask the local people. Even though official histories only speak about Funtana for the first time in 1331, the town has existed since antiquity, when salt was produced here, fish were caught, and a particularly good sort of limestone and a specific kind of horn-like, granular stone called “mandulat” (from the Italian mandorlato which means a typical hard cookie with almonds) was extracted from the local quarries. The huge Roman villa in the surrounding Zelena laguna dates to this period. Its preserved remains can still be explored today. The level of luxury of this estate is due its connection to the water springs of Funtana at Perili by a special aqueduct. During a feud in the Middle Ages, Funtana and Zelena laguna, like many other small Istrian towns, were decimated by infectious diseases. In the 16th century the town was settled by newcomers. They were led by a proud captain named Bernard Borisi, who came from Bari, Italy. Having fled from the Turks, they started building a new home right here. In 1610, Borisi decided to build his family palace – the kaštel – which dominates the town even today. There are many romantic legends about a curse in the town that lasted eight years. As hereditary counts, the Borisi rule Funtana and its surrounding area for generations until 1869, but in 1651 they lost their authority because of the murder of a Croat (Slav) by Pietro Borisi. Although the Venetian overlords returned the Borisi to power eight years later – it having been established that Pietro committed the murder only after numerous offences and threats by the Slav inhabitants – legend has it that the background of the entire story was an unhappy love and a fight for the hand of a beauty from Funtana. In any event, wherever you go on the Mediterranean, there certainly will be no lack of exciting tales. Doors For everyone running after work all year long, trying VWideto keep pace with an ever faster Open way of life typical of large cities, with thoughts and hands tied to countless technological innovations from the Internet to mobile communications, a summer vacation surrounded by friends is a special luxury. To spend free days in the idleness of a homey atmosphere without stress, where the landlord is not just an anonymous face who hands over your keys and tells you what your room number is with an obliging smile, but is a person who opens the doors of their home to you, drinks a glass of wine on the balcony with you, prepares a barbecue for you, will gladly take you fishing, makes this much more than the usual summer vacation. Everyone who has been to Funtana once knows that very well. From the stone houses whitened by the bora, with a picturesque bower that offers shady refuge during the summer, under which the sweetest after-lunch dreams are waiting, and through whose wide-open gates, courtyards, terraces and balconies the delicious aromas of homemade food invite you, to the narrow little streets with stone benches that seem to grow from the facades, waiting for a passerby to stop for a moment, sit down and have a chat with someone – here everything really breaths a special atmosphere. The open gates of Funtana’s private accommodations are overtures to the ode of the good Mediterranean life. And bear well in mind, hurry does not exist here! Come in, take a deep breath and relax! Here life is simply easy and relaxed, following the rhythm of the seasons. Have you always dreamt of a vacation where you can walk everywhere barefoot, when Inyou can sayPraise hello to the local people selling ofhomegrown Simplicity fruits and vegetables, and maybe to choose them yourself? Are you one of those who cannot wait to stroll among the olive trees and vineyards that produce the delicious, fragrant oil into which you dip the crust of homemade bread and the refined wines that crown your meals? Are you longing for a sailing adventure on the horizon and for fishing? Would you like to discover all secrets of fishing, all of the fish, crabs and shells and the ways to catch and prepare them? Even if you are not too nimble, it is enough to take a walk and explore. While the quiet jetty of Funtana rocks the vessels and the little boats that with every sunrise bring crates of the most diverse variety of fish, crabs and shells, in the Funtana’s gardens and fields are maturing the most delicious tomatoes, zucchini, chicory and other products of nature that will make up those tasty mouthfuls served on a dish in front of you. And do not forget that the fields of this region are the most praised in all of Istria because rarely has the earth been blessed with such an amount of water as here at the springs of Funtana. Have you heard of fishing chatter? If you take a walk down the jetty, you will realize what a famous Croatian writer was writing about in an epic poem of the 16th century. Whether it is a simple little sardine or a prodigious specimen of the “zubatac”, sea bass or the alluring fragrance of the “orada” from the dish of Poseidon in front of you, without any exaggeration you can paraphrase the famous Cassiodorus, as it is practice here, and say that in the south of Istria people really do lead a life worthy of a god! And then taste! Crowned by the drops of majestic wines, watered with the fluid gold of homemade olive oil, the table of this area, from the inevitable appetizers of cheese and ham, to the typical soups and homemade pasta (with particularly magical names like fuži, pljukanci and gnocchi), to the most precious fish, crabs and shells prepared in a thousand ways, rightly carries the royal epithet. It is up to you to enjoy. The Do you relish that old domestic, and almost forgotten, Royaltradition when after a meal ripe figs,Table slices of melon and almonds were served on a wooden table with a small glass of simple homemade spirit instead of colorful ice cream cups and fancy cakes? Discover the charm of small restaurants and taverns where you sit under an arbor or close to a fireplace to taste the alluring domestic flavors and the beauty of a traditional Istrian home.

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