A Venetian loggia above the Mirna valley, chapels painted with old frescoes and a village so photogenic that film crews keep coming back. Oprtalj and Draguć are inland Istria at its calmest.
Everyone visiting inland Istria goes to Motovun and Grožnjan, and with good reason. But scattered across the hills are dozens of smaller villages that see only a fraction of the visitors and offer the same stone streets, the same views and far more silence. Two of the most rewarding are Oprtalj, on a ridge above the Mirna valley, and Draguć, on a hill further east above the Butoniga reservoir. Neither takes more than an hour or two to explore, which is exactly why they work so well on a slow day in the countryside.
Oprtalj: a balcony above the Mirna valley
Oprtalj (in Italian, Portole) sits high on a ridge on the north side of the Mirna valley, facing across to the forested slopes around Motovun. Like many Istrian hill towns, it was fortified and spent centuries under Venetian rule, and its compact core of stone houses, narrow lanes and small squares still follows the outline of the old walls. Some houses stand empty, a reminder of the emigration that emptied many inland villages in the twentieth century; others have been carefully restored.
The first thing you meet at the entrance to the village is the town loggia, an open, arcaded hall where public life once took place. It holds a small collection of carved stones, including Venetian lions and old coats of arms. From here, a short walk leads to the parish Church of St George, with its separate bell tower rising above the roofs and a terrace with wide views over the valley.
- The loggia. An open arcaded hall at the entrance to the village, with old carved stones displayed inside.
- The Church of St George. The parish church, with its tall bell tower and views from the square.
- The small churches. Several chapels in and around Oprtalj contain medieval and Renaissance frescoes. They are often locked, so ask locally or check opening times in advance.
- The views. On clear days the panorama stretches over the Mirna valley towards Motovun and the hills of central Istria.
Below Oprtalj, in the valley, lies Livade, one of the best-known truffle centres in Istria, and the route of the old Parenzana railway passes nearby. Today the former track is a cycling and walking trail, and the stretch around Oprtalj is one of its most scenic. See our guide to the Parenzana.
The smaller the village, the louder the silence at midday.
Draguć: the village of frescoes and film sets
Draguć is a single long street of stone houses running along a narrow ridge, with a church and bell tower in the middle and green hills falling away on both sides. Very few people live here today, but the village is beautifully preserved, and its unchanged streets have made it a favourite location for film and television productions. Locals sometimes call it the Hollywood of Istria, half in jest.
Draguć's real treasure is its frescoes. At the entrance to the village stands the small Chapel of St Roch, with a simple porch in front and walls inside covered in sixteenth-century paintings of saints and biblical scenes. Outside the village, by the cemetery, the Romanesque Church of St Elisej holds even older wall paintings. Together they form one of the finest small collections of painted churches in Istria, in the same tradition as the famous frescoes of Beram. See our guide to Beram.
From the edge of the village there are wide views over a landscape of wooded hills and the Butoniga reservoir in the valley below. It is a lovely place to arrive in the late afternoon, when the light turns gold and the stone glows.
How to combine the two
Oprtalj and Draguć are not next door to each other, but both fit easily into a day of driving through inland Istria. One option is to start in Oprtalj in the morning, descend to the Mirna valley for lunch, and continue via Motovun towards Draguć for the evening light. Another is to pair Draguć with Buzet, Roč and Hum to the north, or with Pazin and Beram to the south.
- Motovun. The best-known hill town of the Mirna valley. See a slow weekend in Motovun.
- Grožnjan. The village of artists, a short drive west of Oprtalj.
- Buzet and Roč. Truffle country and the Glagolitic Alley. See our guide to Buzet and Roč.
- Pazin. The castle above the abyss, in the centre of the peninsula.
Good to know
- Getting there. You will need a car or a bicycle. Roads are narrow and winding, so allow more time than the map suggests.
- Parking. Leave the car at the edge of each village and walk in; the streets are narrow and quiet.
- Opening hours. Small churches with frescoes are often locked. Ask in the village or at a local tourist office before you go.
- Food. Bring water and plan meals in the valley or in nearby villages; services in Oprtalj and Draguć are limited, especially out of season.
- Best time. Spring and autumn, when the hills are green or golden and the air is clear.
Oprtalj and Draguć are not destinations to tick off. They are places to slow down, listen to the wind in the cypresses and look at walls painted five hundred years ago. In a region where the best-known towns can feel busy in summer, they are a reminder of how quiet inland Istria can still be.
