Labin - Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Labin is a town in eastern Istria whose historic centre rises above the lower districts. Alongside its larger churches, the old town has retained smaller religious buildings that serve different purposes today.

Giuseppina Martinuzzi Street follows the former edge of town, where buildings stand close beside one another.

Among them is the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Its small reddish façade, with a round window, stone portal and bell gable, is best seen from the narrow street approach.

The church was built in 1615. Restoration in 1867 gave it its present Neoclassical façade; it was restored again in the 1980s and then converted into the Alvona Gallery. This second identity does not erase the building's sacred origins, but shows how the old centre acquired a new cultural use. A heritage survey mentions a surviving wooden altar with a painting by Giovanni Corner inside.

The exhibition programme changes, so the Alvona Gallery has no single permanent display defining a visit. Nearby, a walk continues past Manzini Palace and other houses, underlining how closely the former church is woven into the street.