Taking advantage of the attractive old city centre, of picturesque fishing-boats in the harbour, batanas, and of extremely pleasant climate, members of the Austro-Hungarian nobility laid foundation for the development of tourism in Rovinj already at the end of the 19th century. Although Rovinj, like Venice, is usually represented with charming images of coastline and houses emerging directly from the sea, it is worth knowing that the city is also surrounded with beautiful areas of protected nature. For all those who are tired of noise in the harbour and urban sensations and would like to enjoy idyllic nature, Rubin trail is the right choice. Begin your ride in Punta and continue to the so called Venetian quarry, a place from which for centuries blocks of Istrian quality stone had been transported to Venice, Vienna or Budapest and used for construction of monumental palaces. Continuing along the trail you will arrive to the Hutterot Museum founded in honour of the family of the baron Hutterot who played an important role in the history of tourism in Rovinj at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The following stop is Zlatni rt - Punta corrente – a protected Forest Park of singular beauty and of high aesthetic and botanic value, one of the most important parks on our coast. If you would like to visit magnificent bays with nice pebbles where you can refresh yourself, continue towards the next stop; the bays of Cuvi and Polari. The tourist village Villas Rubin is situated between them. Continuing along the trail you will arrive to the bay of Veštar, in the times of the Roman Empire known as Vistrum, famous for being the birthplace of an important prelate. Although today Veštar is known only as a campsite the legend has it that in the 16th century in this place Maximilian dug up treasure which helped him to convince King Justinian to appoint him the archbishop of Ravenna. If you love archaeology and if you like to find traces of the Roman Empire in the area, continue to the bay and you will find there ruins of villa rustica and of a Roman cistern. There is also a surprise for you - the ornithological reserve Palud with rich variety of ornithofauna, a unique place where you can hear the chirping of even 215 different bird species! In the nearby area you will find the church of St Damian from the 11th century where, as the legend tells, Pope Alexander III celebrated a mess on his way to Venice. If you think that at this point there are no more surprises on the trail Rubin – you are wrong. On the way along the coastline there is another ancient quarry and two churches – that of St Nicholas form the 12th century and that of the Madonna di Campo from the 15th century. The second one is known as a place of pilgrimage where in times of drought people used to pray for the rain. If all this is not enough to satisfy the spirit of Indiana Jones inside you there is another final surprise - if you continue 5 km to the east, you will arrive to the hill Monkodonjo where you will find a wonderful archaeological park called Monkodonjo - a ruin from the high and medium Bronze Age.
Source: istria-bike.com