The city is officially bilingual, speaking Italian and Croatian interchangeably, and the Italian influence is felt in many buildings, in the atmosphere and in the cuisine. Officially its Italian name is Rovigno, and in addition to the aforementioned Croatian and Italian, some residents still speak Istrian, also called rovignese, a Romance language formerly spoken in the region of Istria.

This quiet town, noted for being a picturesque town of cobblestone streets and buildings on the seafront, is located in Istria, a heart-shaped peninsula in the northwest near the border with Slovenia and very close to Italy's Trieste. The city is surrounded by small wooded islands that form a wonderful marine environment with an appealing Mediterranean climate.

Rovinj, first mentioned in the 8th century as Ruvignium, Ruvigno or Ruignio, was initially located on an island, until in the second half of the 18th century it was joined to the mainland by filling in the channel that separated them. This region was conquered and reconquered throughout its history by a large number of peoples, kingdoms and empires.

Of Roman origin, it was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire, was part of the Republic of Venice, was in the hands of the Habsburgs, then the Kingdom of Italy and was part of Yugoslavia until Croatia gained its independence in 1991. From each kingdom it has been part of, Rovinj has been agglutinating an endless number of particularities that make it unique and exquisite.

During the summer, Rovinj is full of tourists walking its cobblestone streets, enjoying the warm waters of the Adriatic or savoring the multitude of cafes and restaurants offering the best of local cuisine. In winter, on the other hand, it becomes a much calmer place, transforming into a quiet fishing village with an impressive architecture of medieval alleys, buildings and monuments embedded in a small peninsula.

Every summer, in addition, the winding Grisia Street near the Church of St. Euphemia becomes a beautiful open-air museum, where artists from Croatia and all over Europe exhibit their works. This event has been held since 1967, where the various works of art are displayed in every corner and on every step of the picturesque street.

One of the most outstanding monuments of Rovinj, in addition to its characteristic houses and buildings on the waterfront, is the Church of St. Euphemia, which with its 57-meter high bell tower in the Venetian style is considered the largest Baroque building on the Istrian peninsula. The beautiful church was built when Rovinj served as a bastion for the Venetian fleet, and its unmistakable tower transports us precisely to the city of Venice and its impressive architecture.

Its majestic construction dates from the eighteenth century, as part of the expansion and improvement of the previous temple. In its beautiful interior, topped in Carrara marble with statues, frescoes and magnificent carvings that decorate each of its altars and corners, is the sarcophagus of St. Euphemia, patron saint of the city. Saint Euphemia of Chalcedon was a martyr of Asia Minor of the fourth century AD, whose miracle tells that her sarcophagus appeared on the shores of Rovinj in the ninth century from Constantinople.

In addition to the portentous and impressive Baroque church, the old town of Rovinj stands out for its architectural ensemble of buildings where balconies, galleries, portals, facades and roofs intertwine Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical elements, enclosed behind the ancient city walls, sections of which are still visible.

With an enviable climate where the sun is the protagonist practically all year round, bathed by the clean and warm waters of the Adriatic, enveloped in a landscape of lush vegetation, a considerable historical heritage and its magnificent beauty full of beautiful corners, Rovinj is an important tourist destination, considered even the most romantic of the entire Mediterranean.

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