The Communal Palace

Above the inner fortification walls stands a high facade of the Communal Palace, the Romanesque structure erected in the 12th or the 13th cc. The town was ruled by the Counts of Gorizia from the 12th century. According to its original walls and structures, including the Communal Palace, it can be suggested that the 13th century Motovun was a crafts and trading centre with the fortified citadel.

Although at first sight an unkempt structure, the Communal Palace facade still displays the visible remains of the built in Romanesque windows or the double lancet windows. Some of them still preserve the central capitals, the 13th century Romanesque in their form. The Motovun Communal Palace is the best preserved public structure in Istria and Croatia. It is interesting to note that the function of the palace has remained the same until the present day - that of the Motovun Town Hall.