Construction of Rovinj Batana Begins
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Construction works on the Rovinj batana (type of wooden boat) began at the Big Pier in the presence of numerous visitors, as part of the Houses on Batana project.
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Construction works on the Rovinj batana (type of wooden boat) began at the Big Pier in the presence of numerous visitors, as part of the Houses on Batana project.
This is an original fishing vessel, which put food on the tables of many generations in Rovinj.
The batana, which will be 4.8 meters long and should be completed by September 1st, is being built by Mladen Takač, under the watchful eye of caulker Francesco Budicino and his grandson Leonardo.
Construction of this ancient vessel, which will be performed every night to guests’ delight, attracted many people. However, at the very beginning of its construction, the folk band Batana played numerous Primorje and Mediterranean songs specially for this occasion, and they were joined by Culture and Art Association Marco Garbin with their renditions of bitinadas and serenades. Istrian County Prefect Ivan Jakovčić, who happens to be the godfather of the batana, also attended the construction of the batana, whose main sponsor in addition to Istrian County, Town and Tourist Board is the Croatian Tourist Board, which provided 50 thousand HRK for the project.
According to Dragana, Lucija Ratković, curator and initiator of the eco-museum Houses on Batana, the batana construction project aims to become a medium by which Rovinj will communicate with other towns sharing the Adriatic Sea with their special boats, apart from enriching the cultural offer of the town and saving shipbuilding from slow extinction.
«Construction of the batana should go on until September 1st, after which we are planning an attractive event called ‘’Adriatic Sisters’ Encounter’’. Namely, Rovinj is supposed to be the host town to a gajeta-falkuša (type of fishing boat) from Komiža, and some boats from Venice.
