Prehistoric hill site Picugi is only several kilometres away from Poreč. It can be reached if you are prepared for a short walk and a climb. One can approach it by car or by bike, although the very destination is accessible only on foot.
The hill-port consists of three hills at an altitude from 110 to 119 meters. Settlements were circular and surrounded by three concentric walls. Their importance lies in the Iron Age urn-field necropoli.
In the late 19th century, the explorers dug up 500 graves. The additional 250 were found in the early 20th century. There were also some private excavations – typical paunchy ceramic urns are kept in Trieste, Pula and Poreč museums. The settlement was inhabited until the Roman Age.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.