The St. Mauro trail (142)

Poreč - Sveti Lovreč - Kloštar - Vrsar - Funtana - Poreč
Length: 58 km
Difficulty: Medium
Altitude: 450 m
Highest point: 315 m
Lowest point: 0 m
Riding time: 3:00 - 4:00 h

 

 

The Saint Maurus Trail is a circular trail marked with the number 124, starting in Poreč, passing through Sveti Lovreč – Kloštar – Vrsar – Funtana, and ending in Poreč. The trail is of medium difficulty, 58 km in length. The walking duration is 3:00 – 4:00 hours. Approximately 20 km is asphalt, and 38 km of the trail is gravel.

 

Sveti Lovreč

In the western part of the Istrian peninsula, you will find this hidden gem, one of the best-preserved medieval fortified towns in Istria. Castrum Sancti Laurentii - the first mention of Sveti Lovreč, is found on a map from 1030, with the Latin castrum representing a fortified military settlement.

Sveti Lovreč, settled thousands of years ago, developed on the site of a prehistoric hillfort. By the Byzantine era, it was fortified with walls and towers, and the majority of the fortification preserved to this day dates from the long period of Venetian rule.

The old town's urban core conceals the Basilica of St. Martin, the best-preserved early Romanesque church in Istria, believed by experts to have been built in the first half of the 11th century. The Gothic church of St. Blaise can be discovered near the Great Gate, leading to Placa, the main square that has been the center of gatherings and city life for centuries.

The settlement was named after the 8th-century Church of St. Lawrence, located in the cemetery outside the city walls.

This charming town has been ravaged by numerous wars and epidemics of plague and malaria, and even several earthquakes, but all of this is just part of the rich story of Sveti Lovreč, which, shrouded in the spirit of history, invites exploration.