Rakotule: Churches, Frescoes and the Parenzana

Rakotule at a glance

Rakotule is a cluster of smaller villages and hamlets. As you approach along the main road, the stone bell tower of the parish church of St. Roch is visible. Historic churches and frescoes give the destination a cultural focus; the Parenzana adds a specific stretch of trail. Views of Motovun and a long beekeeping tradition are also part of Rakotule’s character.

Churches and artworks

The parish church of St. Roch preserves a stone niche decorated with reliefs and bearing an inscription from 1560. The arch of the Romanesque apse is also visible. The church was probably built around the time the Rakotule parish was first mentioned in 1580. A fragment of a fresco from the original parish church of St. Roch was discovered in 1958 and is kept at the Diocesan Museum in Poreč.

The church of St. Nicholas was built in the 14th century and extended at the front in the 15th century. Its frescoes depict the Maiestas Domini, Christ in Glory, as well as scenes from the legends of St. Nicholas. At St. Roch, the focus is on the niche and the Romanesque apse arch; St. Nicholas combines a later building phase with an iconographic program related to the church’s patron saint.

The church of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Blaise is located in Pahovići (Konobari), in the Rakotule area. It was built in the 12th century and remodeled several times later. Its architectural history adds another early construction date and a varied sequence of later changes to the insights into the destination’s church architecture.

The Parenzana and a specific stretch of trail

The Parenzana is a recreational trail along a restored section of the historic railway line that connected Poreč and Trieste. Near the Sv. Vital, or Veli Most, viaduct, it crosses the Rakotule–Špinovci road. You can park there and walk about 2.5 km in the direction of Vižinada. Check local parking and trail conditions before setting out.

For planning purposes, it is worth keeping the two scales distinct: the Parenzana refers to the trail along a section of the historic railway route; the approximately 2.5 km refers to the walk in the direction of Vižinada, not the entire route. This lets you consider the specific stretch of trail as a separate part of your travel plans, without confusing it with the length or route of the entire Parenzana.

Views and beekeeping tradition

Motovun is visible from several places in Rakotule. If you are interested in views as well as churches, this offers another perspective on the destination. OPG Anton Kramar continues a beekeeping tradition in Rakotule that is more than 100 years old. This is a different cultural point of reference from the architecture and artworks: here, the focus is on a long-standing local beekeeping tradition.

Discover more destinations: Škropeti, Novaki Motovunski, Karojba.

For the broader travel overview: Općina Karojba.