About

House of Frescoes in Draguć 

The opening of the House of Frescoes in the old school building in Draguć was originally a combined project of the Istrian Region and the Cerovlje Municipality, who were joined at a later stage by the Italian Veneto Region and the Croatian Ministry of Culture. They all recognized the importance of mural painting in Istria, a specific phenomenon of cultural heritage whose preservation and presentation requires significant effort and particular expertise.

The House of Frescoes was set up within the framework of the REVITAS II project, financed through the cross-border cooperation programme IPA Slovenia – Croatia 2007-2013 in the total amount of 843,058.49 EUR. The aim of the REVITAS II project was the revitalization of the Istrian interior through the development of sustainable cultural tourism, creation of innovative approaches to the reinterpretation of cultural heritage and the creation of the recognizable joint cross-border destination Istria. As one of the partners in the project, the Region of Istria equipped the House of Frescoes with the info centre, gallery space, conference room and artist in residence space. The building functions as an experience centre where visitors can directly come into contact with the rich cultural heritage of Istria through innovative and dynamic multimedia interactions, multilingual photographic monographs, brochures and other educational-promotional materials.

The preliminary catalogue of wall paintings in Istria includes about 130 localities with fresco cycles of varying levels of preservation, researched to a different degree. The crowning moment of the systematic protection that has been carried out in the last 15 years by all the villages and towns concerned, the Region, the Church and the state, through the Ministry of Culture and the competent conservation department, was the forming of the Centre for Frescoes in the House of Frescoes in Draguć as a separate department of the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria in Pula.

House Facilities

The ground floor of the House features a tourist information point and a small gallery, on the first floor there is a polyvalent hall with 60 seats suitable for professional and scientific gatherings and other events for the needs of the municipality's residents, while the top floor provides accommodation, living and working space for scientists and experts in wall paintings.

The Centre for Frescoes Activities

The Centre for Frescoes itself is conceived as a reference centre, where all documentation thematically related to wall painting will be collected. The Centre’s activities will be carried out both in the House and throughout Istria. In addition to the collection of paper documentation, the activities of the Centre include the development of a digital database of the Istrian movable and immovable cultural heritage, organization of professional, scientific and popular lectures on wall paintings, restoration and preservation of Istrian cultural heritage, organization of professional and scientific conferences, organization of teaching in the field for pupils and students of related professions, monitoring and support of restoration and conservation works on wall paintings, publishing of cultural-historical guides and the general popularization of wall painting. 

Information and programs

Information about all the programs of the House can be obtained at the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria in Pula from Sunčica Mustač, Manager of the House of Frescoes in Draguć.  Scholars studying wall painting can book their stay in the House. See you!