Is there anything that still attracts me to Motovun, no matter how faintly? Yes, there is. It is the view of the town from the Mirna valley. And vice versa, of course. Also, it is everything built by Venetians that the Slavs have not managed to despoil in the meanwhile. Well, this is about all. Not much, but surely enough. Come to think of it, it is everything that attracted me to the medieval town in the first place. Before I met many of its current inhabitants, that is.

Addendum I (February 21, 2011)

I missed one small thing when I listed Motovun’s few remaining attractions: my own paintings. A strange omission, no doubt. But whenever I return to my house, and especially after longer stays in Zagreb, I relish the ageless icons pressing around me. I can stare at the teeming walls for hours on end. And I can feel at home. Safe and sound, as it were. Although my paintings can be displayed in any old house, as was the case in Reading after my parents’ departure, Motovun is their own house and home at this juncture. Besides, my next painting is already hatched in my mind. It is dying to come out. I can already smell the paints and brushes eagerly awaiting my belated return…

Addendum II (May 26, 2011)

Sitting in my livingroom, puffing at my pipe, and staring at my paintings that surround me from all sides, I just returned once again to this forgotten attraction of the godforsaken hilltown. It did not take me long to find this piece, either. Nor to decide to add a few more words to it. Indeed, my paintings give me an enormous pleasure. They spell home for me. Once upon a time, this was the rôle of my carpets. Wherever I went, I would wrap myself in them. Now it is the walls covered with geometric patterns of my own making. It is usually the last painting that I stare at most, but all the other paintings get their due share of my attention. And I feel as though the whole world is mine. I feel miraculously fulfilled. Yes, there is something that still attracts me to Motovun, and not only faintly.

Addendum III (September 15, 2015)

Coming across this piece in one of my random searches, I am surprised that it does not mention the fireplace in my house. The same holds for the first two addenda. But the fireplace is simply splendid, indeed. Quite tall and low to the floor, it takes an entire livingroom wall. My beloved is enthralled by it, too, and it is a joy for me to ensure that it works to her pleasure. We spend many a winter night staring into the fire. Winter after winter, this has become a ritual that both of us remember with joy and look forward to at the same time. Which is why I cannot believe that I am introducing it as one of the Motovun attractions so late in the game. At any rate, this piece was written in anger following so many miseries brought to me by the then mayor of Motovun and his stooges. By and by, few Istrians remained close to my heart, for most of them reminded me of my experiences with political repression typical not only of the hilltown, but also of the entire peninsula. Luckily, all this is behind me now, hopefully for good.