The Konobon Gallery
Story of bread, olive oil and wine
Display of bread
Grain farming is closely linked to the evolution of civilisation. It was a long way from corn to bread – it took almost 10000 years to make bread out of a corn, and the story about bread itself is almost 5000 years old. In the beginning it did not contain any fermenting agent. It was the Egyptians who used yeast to make bread as we know it today. In Roman times the scent of bread spread all over the world. The culture of bread making survived until the present day. Numerous exhibits show the traditional way of making bread and a special place in the photos is given to Istrian bread ovens that were, up until not to long ago, an important meeting point and crucial for socialization in this rural ambience.
Display of olive oil
Olive is a plant whose history is interlinked with the culture of Mediterranean civilisations for about seven thousand years. The farming started in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and with the spreading of antique civilisations it came to Istria and the fertile red soil around the Baredine cave. Not far from here, on the sea coast, close to Červar and Lorun, a commercial complex was discovered that consisted of an oil mill and ceramic products from the 1st and 2nd century. In that antique site amphorae of characteristic shapes (type Dressel 6 B) were produced, which were used for the transport of olive oil and wine. They were discovered all over the Mediterranean. The Romans brought the production of olive oil to perfection. This process, used up until recently, is depicted through exhibits in the Konobon-gallery. After you've seen the old presses and familiarized yourself with the traditional process of making olive oil, the story of oil from „Istrian amphorae“ continues with the degustation of first-class extra vergine olive oil accompanied by the scent of fresh homemade bread.
Display of vine
Wine and grape vine are the core elements of the Istrian lifestyle. At several locations in the vicinity of the Baredine cave a couple of inscriptions were discovered, which witness that in this area during the 1st and 2nd century as well as later and in the Medieval period wine production was pretty developed. Malvazija and Teran and several other types of white and red wine make Istria a recognizable wine-growing area.
In the ambience of the Konobon gallery sorrounded by pictoresque vineyards there is an exhibition showing traditional techniques of grape processing and vine production including interesting examples of presses, barrels, tools and various patents used to protect grape vine from phylloxera and downy mildew.