Motovun - Montona to the Romans - is one of the most beautiful and best preserved of Istria's medieval hilltop settlements. These days it's best known for its film festival (see p94 Motovun Film Festival), which transforms this otherwise sleepy town into a cultural hub and party madhouse for one week every summer.
Motovun is sited on the summit of a 277-metre (910-foot) hill in the middle of the Mirna Valley, surrounded by truffle-rich forest. When the original prehistoric settlement was founded, it would have been surrounded by water. In those days the estuary stretched right up to the 'Gates of Buzet' at the head of the valley. It was along this ancient inlet that Jason and his Argonauts are supposed to have fled after having captured the Golden Fleece.

In its day, Motovun was the communications hub for all of inland Istria. From its strategic position, it controlled the merchant routes that wound across the valley floor on the way to the coast. In 1278 Motovun came under the rule of Venice, a major outpost on its border with the Austrian empire. Although depopulated as a result of the Italian exodus after World War II, a new wave of inhabitants -many of them artists and writers -has set up home here in recent times. The result is the Motovun Film Festival, set up in 1999.

Non-residents are banned from driving around the town's narrow cobbled streets (there's a car park at the bottom of the hill). Motovun's two sets of fortified walls divide the town into three sections - the higher you climb, the older it gets. As you wend your way upwards, past rather dilapidated, 16th- and 17th-century Venetian-style houses, you pass several small shops, offering wine, truffles and local grappa.

As the road levels it passes through the main city gate dating from the 15th century. Its walls are hung with Roman tombstones taken from the cemetery of Karojba, a village 5km (3 miles) away on the road to Pazin. Within the gate is a museum of antique weaponry. The entrance is on the far side of the gate. Also here is the town's art gallery. Next door is the cafe bar Gallery whose terrace is sited on the other side of the street, against the first set of fortified walls. Sitting here you have a clear view to the Adriatic. Just in case, a telescope has been thoughtfully provided. There's a cashpoint opposite, the only one in the area.

A few steps further, facing the town loggia, is the 13th-century gateway into the original heart of Motovun. This walkway is particularly steep and slippery -use the handrail. This entrance houses a small landmark restaurant, Pod Voltom. From the archway you walk on to the main square. Dominated by a magnificent 13th-century belltower, the piazza is sited over a huge cisterna, or water collection pit, which used to supply the town. You can still see the 14th-century well. Next to the tower stands the baroque Church of St Stephen and, opposite, a Renaissance palace citadel, housing the local cinema. The piazza also contains Motovun's main hotel, the attractive Kastel.

It's at this point that all the climbing pays off. Stroll along the original 13th-century walls and a stunning 360-degree panoramic view reveals the whole of inland Istria laid out before you. Motovun's strategic importance down the ages suddenly becomes clear.

Motovun only has two main roads. If you turn left and follow the second route down, you come out close to the car park. Known as Pod Motovun (Under Motovun), the locality contains a couple of popular cafe-bars (including the Fakin) and shops but, most importantly of all, an all-too-rare petrol station.