5 Best Sights in Istria, Croatia

Inside this 18th-century Baroque church, the remains of Rovinj's patron saint are said to lie within a 6th-century sarcophagus. Born near Constantinople, Euphemia was martyred in her youth, on September 16 in AD 304, under the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The marble sarcophagus containing her remains mysteriously vanished in AD 800, when it was at risk of destruction by iconoclasts—and, legend has it, it somehow floated out to sea and washed up in faraway Rovinj. (Note the wall engraving just to the right of the entrance of St. Euphemia holding Rovinj in her arms.) On September 16 of each year many people gather to pray by her tomb. There is no better place to enjoy 360-degree sunset views of Rovinj than from the church bell tower. In summer, concerts and art shows take place in the piazza in front of the church.

The magnificent Eufrazijeva Bazilika is among the most perfectly preserved early Christian churches in Europe, and as a UNESCO World Heritage site, one of the most important monuments of Byzantine art on the Adriatic. Built by Bishop Euphrasius in the middle of the 6th century, the basilica consists of a delightful atrium, a church decorated with stunning mosaics, and an octagonal baptistery. Added in the 17th century was a bell tower you can climb (for a modest fee) and a 17th-century Bishop's Palace, whose foundations date to the 6th century; the basement contains an exhibit of stone monuments and mosaics previously on the basilica floor. The church interior is dominated by biblical mosaics above, behind, and around the main apse. In the apsidal semidome, the Virgin holding the Christ child is seated in a celestial sphere on a golden throne, flanked by angels in flowing white robes. On the right side are three martyrs, the patrons of Poreč; the mosaic on the left shows Bishop Euphrasius holding a model of the church, slightly askew. High above the main apse, just below the beamed ceiling, Christ holds an open book while apostles approach on both sides. Other luminous, shimmeringly intense mosaics portray further ecclesiastical themes.

Once part of a magnificent basilica built in the 6th century by Bishop Maximilian of Istria, the humble stone Chapel of St. Mary of Formosa can be found between Sigirijeva Ulica and the port. Over the centuries, the chapel fell into ruin, especially during a 1242 fire at the time of the Venetian conquest of Pula. A large portion of its interior was shipped to Venice, where it was used in building the St. Mark's Library and the Sale delle Quattro Porte of the Doge's Palace. Usually closed to visitors, it's occasionally used as a gallery space, which will give you a chance to take a peek at the interior.

From the tourist office on the main square, stroll down Ulica Castello to Crkva Svetog Blaža, an 18th-century structure built in the style of architect Palladio that not only has the highest campanile in all of Istria but is also the unlikely home of more than 370 relics, such as the mummies or mummified body parts of six saints impressively preserved without embalming. Among the best preserved are St. Nicolosa Bursa and Leon Bembo the Blessed. Nicolosa, whose relatively elastic skin and overall postmortem presentability make her one of the best-preserved human bodies in Europe, was born in Koper (Istria) in the 15th century and was a nun in Venice and elsewhere; she's the one with the garland of flowers still on her head. Leon Bembo the Blessed was a 12th-century Venetian priest tortured in religious riots while ambassador to Syria. And then there is St. Sebastian, a Roman-officer-turned-Christian who was whipped and strangled around AD 288 in Rome after initially surviving torture by arrows. This famous saint's head, spinal column, neck muscles, and related parts are on display here. As for St. Barbara, from 3rd-century Nicomeda (in present-day Turkey), only her leg remains; she so disagreed with her father's pagan slave-keeping lifestyle that he personally killed her with a sword. Admittance to the mummy room, behind the main altar, includes an English-language recording that sums up the saints' lives and roads to mummy-hood. Call to make an appointment to see the collection.

Built originally in the 4th century, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pula's star ecclesiastical attraction—more often called simply St. Mary's Cathedral—was transformed in the second half of the 5th century into a three-nave basilica. Extensive reconstruction began in the 16th century, with the adjacent bell tower constructed in the late 17th century from stones taken from the Arena. Note that the Roman-era mosaic on the floor of the central nave bears a 5th-century donor's inscription.