Croatia Express

A day devoted to discovering Rovinj.

Departure at 08.15 from the port of Ravenna, with the fast hydrofoil of the Emilia Romagna Lines company, arrival around 11.00 in Rovinj, return in the evening.

The town of Rovinj rises on an indented coast south of the Leme fjord, in Istria. It is not very large, since it has fewer than 15,000 inhabitants, and a couple of hours are enough to see the most important and interesting sights from a tourist point of view: the Balbi Arch, built in 1680, is the old city gate, clearly in Venetian style, the Church of St Euphemia built in 1736, the Clock Tower and the lovely harbour. Unfortunately in Rovinj there are not many beaches, since the coast is rocky, but the sea is very beautiful and the water is clear. All the inhabitants speak Italian perfectly, since bilingualism applies, everything carries the double wording in Croatian and Italian, a bit like in South Tyrol back home.

On the currency front: the European Union and the euro are not well regarded by many Croats, so you will have to change a little money into kuna, since our currency is not widely accepted; I used the Finland bar as a currency exchange office (I was recommended it by the locals), which, besides serving the usual drinks, also provides this service. In conclusion, Rovinj deserves a visit. In the course of a day you can see it well and you will also manage to swim in its transparent waters.

History: probably founded by the ancient Histri people, it gained importance under the Romans, with the name Arupinum. It belonged for several centuries to the Most Serene Republic of Venice, before falling into Napoleon's hands and then under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the end of the First World War, Rovinj and Istria became Italian until 1947, the year they were ceded to Yugoslavia.