Kaštelir

Kaštelir occupies a hilltop north of Poreč and forms a single municipality with neighbouring Labinci. Although only about ten kilometres from Poreč, it feels neither suburban nor coastal: vineyards, olive groves, vegetable plots and small family farms shape its surroundings. A church built in 1908 stands in central Kaštelir, while Labinci has the 1736 Church of St John the Baptist and the 13th-century Gothic Church of the Holy Trinity, whose frescoes date from the first half of the 15th century. Active visitors can set off from the Bike Centre in Labinci onto Poreč’s ten-route, 250-kilometre cycling network, or follow a walking trail beginning by the cemetery in Babići. Food provides another rewarding way into the village: local producers offer Malvasia wine, olive oil, honey, spirits, handmade pasta and pumpkin-seed oil from Rogovići, presented by the tourist board as the only one produced in Istria. Specific lunch stops include Toni in Brnobići, Žardin in Kovači and the Monte Formento tasting room. Since the sea does not reach the village itself, a stay here combines the quiet agricultural interior of Istria with short drives to the Poreč coast.

Kaštelir and neighbouring Labinci grew on a western Istrian ridge roughly ten kilometres from Poreč, historically looking first toward Motovun and later Vižinada. Agriculture remains central to Kaštelir’s identity: vineyards, olive groves and fields surround the settlement, while local farms supply the Butiga shop with wine, oil, vegetables, bread, cheese and other regional produce. The bilingual municipal name, Kaštelir-Labinci/Castelliere-Santa Domenica, reflects Istria’s Croatian and Italian heritage. Unlike coastal Poreč, Kaštelir offers an inland base with views across cultivated countryside and road access to the sea.