Gologorica, historically known as Moncalvo di Pisino (), is a village in central

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

, near

Pazin Pazin (, ) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves. Geography The town had a population of 8,638 in 2011, of which 4,386 li ...

(Pisino). Today the village is part of the municipality of

Cerovlje Cerovlje () is a village and a municipality in Istria, Croatia. Description Many ancient towns and decayed castles ( Belaj, Posert, Paz, Gologorica, Gradinje) can be found in its territory. Almost every town or castle in Cerovlje is on top ...

History

The area of Pisino was inhabited since ancient times. The burg around the Castle Montecuccoli (Pazin Castle) was inhabited since prehistoric times, as were many other settlements in the area, including the Bertossi '' castellieri'', Glavizza, and , which features a

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

dating from the 7th to 5th century BC. Some of these settlements became urban centers, others became burgs of castles, and others still remained villages. All the villages in the Pisino area enjoyed in

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times a degree of relative autonomy. The presence of such municipal organization in central Istria "demonstrates the persistence of prerogatives linked to the

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

municipalities". Important Roman artifacts were discovered in the Pisino area, including a Roman gravestone discovered in Moncalvo di Pisino. Remarkable sights in the town include the church of St. Peter and Paul the Apostle with three beautiful

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

altars and a painted baptismal font from the 17th century. This church contains artworks from the 15th century and a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

altar. There is the small church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located on the hilltop on the right side, at the entrance of the settlement, dating from the Romanesque period. It features

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

by an unknown author, dating from 1400. Finally, there are the remains of the city walls. On the main square, in front of the parish church, there is the house of the De Franceschi family, built in 1711. The village also features a stone inscription dedicated to the alleged local Mikula Gologoricki, mentioned in the 13th-century document

Istrian Demarcation The Istrian Demarcation or Istrian Perambulation () is a legal document on the demarcation of territories between neighbouring municipalities in Istria, currently shared by Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. More precisely, between the possessions of ...

.Tomaž Keresteš and Borut Holcman (2015)
"The Istrian Perambulation as an Important Source on History of Autonomous Communes in Slovenian Istria"
''Lex Localis – Journal of Local Self-Government'', Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 49–57.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, its population was 237. In the 2011 census, it had 269 inhabitants.

Notable people

* Carlo De Franceschi (1809–1893), Italian historian and politician

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Istria County