Casa Celestina
Village of Merisce, Central Istria

A beautifully renovated Istrian stone house located in a hilltop village with stunning views to the Adriatic. 1 bedroom, sleeps 2 to 4.
10km from coast. Golf course 15min away.

Casa Celestina is located in a spectacular position in the village of Merisce in central Istria, an area of great natural beauty often compared to Tuscany. It is on a high ridge with stunning and uninterrupted views of the Adriatic and the Italian coast in the distance. The village also looks out towards other hilltop towns including the ruined tower of the 13th century castle at Momjan and Buje with its striking high church steeple. Merisce is no more than 10 kilometres from the coast. In this region of Croatia, Italian is the principal language.

View from terrace

VILLA DESCRIPTION
Casa Celestina is over 100 years old and we have restored it so as to retain many of the original features with full use of the natural materials of which it is built. Beautifully furnished in Mediterranean colours and in a truly breathtaking and peaceful location Casa Celestina provides a unique holiday experience.The villa is fully air conditioned. For the winter months there is under-floor heating on the ground floor and bathrooms and the bedroom has warm air heating.

GROUND FLOOR
The Kitchen and Dining area lead into the Living Room through a wide stone archway. The Living Room opens out onto a terrace and has a direct view to the Adriatic from a full length window. A comfortable sofa in the living room can fold out to provide an additional double bed.

The kitchen units have been built in Tuscan style with stone sink and worktops made by local craftsmen. The kitchen is fitted with electric oven and hob, microwave and dishwasher. A fridge freezer and washer/dryer are housed in a walk in store room. A downstairs WC and hand basin facilitates the use of the sitting room for additional sleeping accommodation if required.

FIRST FLOOR
A stone staircase leads to the first floor where the bedroom, with king size double bed, has a galleried ceiling and access to large terrace with 180 degree panoramic views over vineyards and olive groves and with the Adriatic spanning the horizon. An alcove contains a built-in settee that can convert into an additional single bed. The shower room and WC are accessed from the bedroom.

OUTSIDE
The ground floor terrace has a large covered area with grill, table and chairs and is ideal for outside dining. The first floor sun terrace has magnificent views of the Adriatic and surrounding countryside. Below the house there is a steeply sloping garden area with fruit trees.

FEEDBACK
Our guests at Casa Celestina have, without exception, enjoyed the house, the view and peace and quiet of the location. Here are some of their comments.

"The stunning view makes this place even more enchanting than the peacefulness of this quaint village. The house itself exhibits great attention to detail with décor reminiscent of 19th century Istria but with modern amenities. This villa does not stop short at impressing. Not far from exciting excursions to Slovenia and the Croatian coast. Good local wine and excellent food at the local restaurants."
MV. June 2009.

"You have made a wonderful romantic home here in Merisce. It was great to unlock the door and walk in and see it just as you promised. The view is special; we’ll remember it. It is truly peaceful."
JR June 2009.

"Five Best Istrian Experiences
1. Waking up to the views from the terrace
2. Wandering around Groznjan to the strains of classical music
3. Taking a boat trip from Umag to Porec
4. Swimming in the sea at Novigrad
5. Wallowing in the thermal spa at Istarska Toplice."
J&H, August 2009

"Pristine cottage, great vista and surrounding countryside. What a gem."
A&G H, August 2008.

"Lovely cottage, spectacular view – we lived on the terrace. Great local wine, good food, fun wandering. A find."
B&G

"We will definitely miss the spectacular view and the quietness of this place"
G&WR, June/July 2009

"Wonderful place – the views even more spectacular than on the advertised pictures – and so wonderfully quiet"
AR October/November 2009

"What a great place. We will miss our breakfast on the terrace and star watching at night. Istria is a wonderful place to stay and with a lot to do."
A&B R. August 2009

"Lovely place to stay; very relaxing. We will return."
LS June 2008

"We fell in love with Istria on this trip. The cottage is very comfortable and thoughtfully put together."
R&LS April 2009

MERISCE AND SURROUNDING AREA
Merisce is one of those rare places where a sense of peace and tranquility prevails. The village of some 45 houses is set along a ridge 250 metres above sea level and provides breathtaking views in all directions. The road through the village becomes a farm track and footpath leading to a delightful chapel. There is no through traffic.
The principal town of the area, Buje, is only six kilometres away and is easily reached via a scenic rural road. Buje provides for all shopping and other services, and is itself a charming historic town.

Eating Out
This region of Istria is studded with excellent restaurants of the highest quality as well as bars and café serving simpler fare.
Closest, and highly recommended, is Restaurant Marino in the nearby village of Kremenje. Like all the restaurants in Central Istria, Marino specialises in dishes incorporating truffles gathered from the local woodlands. This first class restaurant also offers its own prize winning Kabola Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malvazia wines.

Momjan -13th Century Tower

Momjan, just 2 km from Merisce boasts two excellent restaurants providing home cooking (pasta and grilled meat and fish) in a convivial atmosphere. Restaurant Zigante in Livade in the valley between Motuvun and Oprtalj is unquestionably one of the finest restaurants in Istria. The imaginative menu includes many dishes that incorporate truffles and there is a first class wine list. There are several other good restaurants within a 15 kilometre radius.

Oprtalj

Beaches
There are many beaches within a 12 to 20 kilometre range from Casa Celestina. The closest beach is at Kanegra on the Piranski Zaljev (Bay of Piran) and is less than 15 minutes drive.
There are also beaches that can easily be reached just over the border in Slovenia at Portoroz and Piran. Novigrad, about 20 km drive, is a charming town and you can swim from immediately outside the town walls which is ideal if you want to combine walking round the town with a swim. Along the coast between Novigrad and Umag there are plenty of places to swim and Umag itself has beaches.

Kanegra

Novigrad

Things to do
Casa Celestina is perfectly located to explore the hilltop towns of Central Istria and to make trips to the picturesque coastal towns. For cultural experiences there are annual film festivals in Pula and Motovun, music festivals in Pula and Groznjan and festival celebrating the truffle season in Buzet and Livade in the autumn.

Central Istria is often compared to Tuscany. The undulating landscape with vineyards, olive groves, woodlands and river valleys is studded with numerous hilltop towns and villages, many originating from the medieval period and earlier and almost all offering spectacular vantage points over the surrounding countryside.
The guide books pick out Motovun and Groznjan but there are many others worth exploring and we will provide you with our own suggestions of places off the usual tourist routes that should not be missed. These medieval settlements have charming village houses, squares and alleyways and in towns like Oprtalj and Motuvun more imposing architecture and fortifications.
Excellent wines are produced in the area and well marked wine routes lead you through charming countryside to wineries where you can sample some of the best Croatian wines. Notable are the Kozlovic winery only 3 minutes drive from Merisce and the Markezic winery also only short distance away.

The west coast of Istria is within easy reach. Many of the towns on this coast are communities first established in the Roman era or earlier but the dominant influence that can be seen today is Venetian. Most of the major coastal towns were under the control of the Venetian Republic during the medieval period. Easily reached from Casa Celestina is the charming town of Novigrad with an attractive harbour crowded with local fishing boats and an old town surrounded by fortifications and on the outer side (away from the harbour) a lungamare (promenade) providing a pleasant walk along the coast and an ideal place to sunbathe and swim.

Rovinj

Further down the coast Rovinj is unquestionably the most picturesque of the medieval Venetian towns on the Adriatic. Every guide book features the colourful facades of the tightly packed houses that encircle this tiny peninsula with the cathedral of St Euphemia and its dominating 60 metre bell tower standing over the town. Other coastal towns well documented in guide books and easily reached from Casa Celestina are Porec, Umag, Vrsar and Piran in Slovenia. On the east coast of Istria, Opatija provides a contrast with its grand villas built in the 19th century for the Austro Hungarian aristocracy, a delightful lungamare (promenade) and some fine restaurants.

LOCATION MAP

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GETTING THERE
Fly Ryanair to Trieste in Italy or to Pula in Croatia (both 1 hour 15 minutes drive). Ryanair flies daily to Trieste from London Stansted (2 hour flight time) and 3 days a week to Pula. Another option is to fly to Rijeka airport on the island of Krk (1 hour 15 drive time). Croatia Airlines flies direct Heathrow to Rijeka on Wednesdays and direct Gatwick to Pula on Saturdays. Slightly further away but still within reach are Treviso (Ryanair) and Venice Marco Polo (British Airways). Another option is to fly EasyJet to Ljubljana in Slovenia (3hrs 30mins). This route opens up the option of a day or two in the beautiful Slovenian lakes of Bled and Bohinj.

Thomsonfly fly to Pula from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham on Tuesdays.

From Scandinavia, Scandjet fly directly to Pula from Stockholm and Gothenburg. Germanwings fly direct to Pula from Cologne and Berlin.

RATES & AVAILABILITY
All rates are per week for the whole villa Saturday to Saturday and are in Pounds Sterling (GBP). Payment can be made in GBP or Euros at the prevailing exchange rate. There are no extras. Tourist tax and cleaning are included. Prices are shown on the chart in the left hand (grey) column.

TO BOOK
Please email or telephone us to make a provisional reservation. Then download and complete the appropriate booking form.

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