Buzet - Southern Bastion

In the northern interior of Croatian Istria, Buzet occupies a hill above the fertile Mirna valley. Its identity is shaped by a fortified historic core on the hill and the newer Fontana district below. Views across the valley and the meeting of Venetian civic monuments with local domestic architecture give it a distinctive character. The southern approach shows especially clearly how the town entrance and defensive edge were conceived as one ensemble.

The southern bastion protects the approach to Vela Gate on the southern edge of old Buzet. The fortification dates from the 16th century and was renovated in 1699 under captain Andrea Erizzo.

Stone steps and the wall edge open views towards the slope and newer town. The gallery shows the masonry, defensive projections and connection with the entrance to the Old Town.

Erizzo’s coat of arms beneath the cornice records the restoration of 1699. The bulwark is therefore both a remnant of the sixteenth-century defences and evidence of later maintenance of the fortified town.