A visit to the fortified church of Hrastovlje in the heart of Istria, Slovenia

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A couple of our friends we had described the church as a masterpiece of Hrastovlje to visit, both for being is to be strengthened and its internal walls completely painted.
Seizing the opportunity to be in Saint Lucia guests to our Slovenian friends, August 26, 2010 we went with them to discover this marvel of medieval art.
It is located Hrastovlje, Hrastovlje for us, the ancient Hrastovlje.
The road to Hrastovlje, if you come from the side Muggia - Caposistria is state highway 409 which goes to Ljubljana.
Dekani past and Rizana, turn right into the 208 per Kubed and just before this country is an indication for Hrastovlje.
We are located in a leafy setting of the karst area, including its geological interest due to the shape of the rock wall that forms the valley.
Arriving at the sight they have suffered in the perimeter walls and the stone tower that comes from them.
The walls date back to the sixteenth century and were built as defense from the Turks of the time.
Two towers at opposite corners were guarding the surrounding territory in order to monitor the approach of the dreaded Turks, given the fact that they also used this valley to point to Austria.
The church is in Roman-Gothic style, built on a previous construction of the thirteenth century and was consecrated in 1475 and dedicated to SS. Trinity.
The wonder of this small sacred building are its interior walls completely painted and still showing different scenes.
The best known is the "Dance of Death" or "Dance of Death", painted on the south side to express the equality of all men in the face of death, inevitable event that does justice to all in the same way, all 11 characters rapprentano social classes of the time, each accompanied by a skeleton, they will end up in the same tomb where a skeleton seated on a throne keeps it raised the lid.
Other scenes represent the life of Jesus, the Passion, the NATV, the Creation, the cycle of Adam and Eve to the murder of Abel by Cain.
Interesting ceiling paintings depicting the months of the year and the work that the farmer Istrian place at that time.
A jewel of the Middle Ages contained in the small box which is the Church of the Holy Trinity in Hrastovlje.
The ticket cost a few euro and asking who will make the tickets, you can hear the explanation of the frescoes in Italian, and enlighten them to us to indicate with a laser pointer.
If you get close to lunchtime, I highly recommend the local restaurant Costjlna Svab, where the cozy inside, you can sample the local specialties including, but not to be missed, Bobic soup, a tasty soup beans, barley, corn and fresh pieces of ham.
For the gourmet the Istrian ham and flavorful, and if there like the truffle, all watered with the excellent wines of the place.
Have a good trip.
Wanda & Giancarlo