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Roč (; ) is a village in
Istria County Istria County (; ; , "Istrian Region") is the westernmost Counties of Croatia, county of Croatia which includes the majority of the Istrian peninsula. Administrative centers in the county are Pazin, Pula and Poreč. Istria County has the larg ...
, north-west
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. Administratively it belongs to the
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
of
Buzet Buzet (; ; ) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, population 6,133 (2011). The historical core of Buzet dates back to the Middle Ages, and today Buzet is known as the town of truffles. Buzet is also known as the home of Croatian motorsport, and eve ...
. Roč is considered a historic town rather than a village due to its rich cultural heritage.


Geography

It is situated in the northwest of the
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
n peninsula, southwest of the Ćićarija plateau. The village is located about south-east of
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
on the road via
Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...
and the Učka Tunnel ( B8) to
Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
. Roč station is also a stop on the Istrian Railway (''Istarske pruge'') line from Divača via Podgorje to
Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...
.


History

The name Roč or ''Rozzo'' derive from the Celtic ''Roz''. The related name Roc is very common in wide areas under
Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
influence. The present-day settlement was first mentioned as ''Rus'' in a document of 1064. The area was settled in protohistoric times. Romans called it ''Castrum Rotium'' or ''Rocium''. The town was founded in prehistory, as an Illyrian settlement. After the Roman Empire incorporation of Istria, it became a Roman ''castrum'', becoming an important settlement for the Romans since the second century BC. Numerous findings from the Roman period were discovered in the area or Roč (Rozzo) and Buzet (Pinguente). While the former
March of Istria March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
was gradually incorporated into the Venetian '' Stato da Màr'', Roč from the 12th century onwards developed to a fortified town and a centre of Slavic literature. The local Church of St. Anthony holds the precious Roč
Glagolitic The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...
Abecedarium from the 13th century. The first Croatian printed book, the 1483 '' Missale Romanum Glagolitice'', was prepared in Roč by one Juri Žakan. By the 1797
Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
, Istria fell to the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
and later became part of the Austrian Littoral. After World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, Istria including Rozzo was partitioned to Italy in the Treaty of Rapallo (1920). After the end of World War II, Istria including Rozzo was ceded to Yugoslavia. After the breakup of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
in 1991, most of Istria (including Roč) became part of present-day Republic of Croatia.


Demographics

According to the 2021 census, its population was 187. It was 153 in 2011.


Sights

The town of Roč is declared by the authorities as an important cultural monument, as it has a well-preserved medieval town walls with two entrances, a Roman
lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...
, a Venetian bombarda
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
and a functional watchtower. Furthermore, it has the Romanesque church of St Anthony dating from the 11th century, the small St Roch Church with several notable 14th-century
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es representing St Paul and the Apostles, as well as the St Bartholomew parish church built from the 14th century onward with its prominent high steeple erected in 1676. Numerous other smaller artifacts are preserved in the ancient buildings. Seven kilometers from Roč is Hum, with a population of only 22 people often called the smallest town in the world. Along the road from Roč to Hum is Glagolitic Alley (''Aleja glagoljaša''), a scenic route of ten monuments constructed in 1977-81 representing the history of the
Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic script ( , , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed that it was created in the 9th century for the purpose of translating liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic by Saints Cyril and Methodi ...
.


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roc Populated places in Istria County