Valamar Blog

Nezakcij (Vizace, lat. Nesactium) is the oldest town in Istria. Today this exceptional historical location is an archeological park that has remains from the Antique and late Antique periods. It is located in the south eastern part of Istria, near Valtura.

The first written sources that mention Nezakcij come from Antique times (Titus Livius memoirs), and material evidence that a town with a celebrated past once stood on this location was found at the beginning of the last century. This was with the discovery of a votive altar from the 3rd century that was dedicated to Emperor Gordian and mentions the Res Publica Nesactiensium.

The area is surrounded by 800 m of walls, within which numerous remains and artifacts from different historical periods can be found. The urns and those items that were placed in the tombs during the time before the Roman occupation are particularly interesting, and there is plenty of evidence that Nezakcij was the centre of Histrian culture. In addition, these artifacts prove the connection with other cultures from the Mediterranean and Europe.

In 177 B.C., Nezakcij was conquered by the Romans and became an important Roman centre. On the slopes, there are the remains of luxurious private buildings and artifacts of great artistic value from these times.

The town survived the fall of the Roman Empire and the birth of Christianity, but it didn’t survive the attacks by the Avars and Slavs in the 7th and 8th centuries, after which it was depopulated and deserted.