The façade of the communal palace giving onto the lower square in Motovun is under refurbishment. The five mullioned windows with two lights on the second floor are being opened after a century or so. In Italian, they are known as bifore. Built in the Thirteenth Century at the latest, they were visible only in traces. A single mullion has been preserved entire, as well as a couple of stone arches supported by the thin columns. Although the scaffolds are still up, the windows are wonderful to behold from the square. The last one was put in place only yesterday. I am not a great fan of the people in Istria who deal with preservation of its historical heritage, but the refurbishment of the façade is very to my liking. What remains to be seen is how it will be plastered and painted after many decades of utter neglect. The last color of the façade was a warm shade of yellow, which can still be seen under the eaves, but it most likely hails from the Austro-Hungarian period. Before that, it could have been a shade of terracotta. The new components of the five bifore will also need careful finishing so as not to stand out from the façade the oldest parts of which may well go the Seventh or Eighth Century. Anyhow, my congratulations to the experts behind the refurbishment! Even they can get it right every now and then.

Addendum I (April 17, 2014)

As soon as my beloved and I returned to Motovun, I wanted to go to the lower square and see the façade of the communal palace. I was dying to see its new color. It was a huge disappointment, though. The new color is as close to white as yellow can be. “It’s the same as the stone of the bifore,” my beloved commented at once. Indeed, the five bifore are now entirely lost on the palace wall. A warm shade of yellow or a shade of terracotta would make a huge difference. Plenty of examples of such colors can be found in Venice, which held Motovun for more than five centuries. The people dealing with preservation of historical heritage in Istria have a long way to go. A long, long way. The destruction of Venetian historical heritage is what they are actually about. And I was dying to see the new color on the façade of the communal palace in Motovun.

Addendum II (January 30, 2015)

It is good to spell out the name of the person responsible for the botched-up color of the communal palace in Motovun. It is no-one else but Ivan Matejčić, who has screwed up much of the historical heritage in the hilltown. Purportedly the greatest “expert” in Istria, he has screwed up much else across the peninsula, it goes without saying. But the abominable color of the façade is part and parcel of Matejčić’s systematic effort to erase every trace of Venice from every town within his remit. Wherever he has a chance, he goes for the Croatian gray, his “color” of choice. I was so happy at the news of his retirement ten years ago, but my joy was entirely misplaced (“Good Riddance, Ivan Matejčić!” November 18, 2005). Alas, he is still around!

Addendum III (May 5, 2015)

The plot thickens, though. Two more sections of the communal palace’s façade have just been covered with plaster and painted. In fact, the scaffolds have been removed only today. These sections rise above the ramp that leads to the archway connecting the lower and upper squares. One section was painted the same off-white as before, but the other is pale ochre now. The section above the gate of the archway is plastered in a special way, so that some stones still show through it. This is something entirely new to Motovun. Even though I prefer the pale ochre to off-white, the partially exposed stone I find no less than despicable. I have never seen anything like it in Venice. How in the world has Matejčić come up with this last trick of his? By and by, he is turning into an author rather than an art historian. And the medieval hilltown is his canvass to play with as he sees fit.