ISTRIA - Croatia and Slovenia - page 192

arebuilt,withthehelpofanentertainingtime-lapsevideoshowingaboatbuiltfromscratch
in five minutes. You'll also meet some of the salty old sailors who use these vessels (find
the placemat with wine stains, and put the glass in different red circles to hear various sea-
men talk in the Rovinj dialect). Another movie shows the boats at work. Upstairs is a wall
of photos of batana boats still in active use, a tiny library (peruse photos of the town from a
century ago), and a video screen displaying bitinada music—local music with harmonizing
voices that imitate instruments. Sit down and listen to several (there's a button for skipping
ahead).ThemuseumhasnopostedEnglishinformation,sopickupthecomprehensiveEng-
lish flier as you enter.
Cost and Hours: 10 kn; June-Sept daily 10:00-14:00 & 19:00-23:00; Oct-Dec and
March-May Tue-Sun 10:00-13:00 & generally also 16:00-18:00, closed Mon; closed Jan-
Feb; Obala Pina Budicina 2, tel. [phone], mobile [phone], www.batana.org , Or-
nela.
Activities: The museum, which serves as a sort of cultural heritage center for the town,
also presents a variety of engaging batana -related activities. On some summer evenings,
you can take a boat trip on a batana from the pier near the museum. The trip, which is ac-
companiedbytraditionalmusic,circlesaroundtheendoftheOldTownpeninsulaanddocks
on the far side, where a traditional wine cellar has a fresh fish dinner ready, with local wine
and more live music (June-mid-Sept, generally Tue and Thu at 20:30, boat trip-60 kn, din-
ner-160 kn extra, visit or call the museum the day before to reserve). Also on some summer
evenings, you can enjoy an outdoor food market with traditional Rovinj foods and live bit-
inada music. The centerpiece is a batana boat being refurbished before your eyes (in front
of museum, 20-30-kn light food, mid-June-early Sept generally Tue and Sat 20:00-23:00).
Even if you're here off-season, ask at the museum if anything special is planned.