The Parish Church at Rovinj

The casual visitor may say as he walks up the stone streets towards the imposing church of St. Euphemia "How did this lovely church come to be?"
If we wish to find the answer we must return way back into the past and patiently search in the history books which describe man's life and his dreams

We will learn that the Christian belief came to this area in the first century a.d. thanks to the witness of so many unnamed travellers and traders, missionaries and soldiers, in peace and exile during the time when Rovinj existed under the great Roman Empire.
Within the small town, which at one time was an island, the inhabitants built the church in the name of the martyr St. George.

The most important year for the church and for the whole area of Rovinj, however, was the year 800, when the coffin and remains of St. Euphemia arrived from Middle Eastern shores. The inhabitants immediately built a chapel for her close to St. George's church.
Due to an immediate increase in the worship of the martyr, the faithful quickly built a larger church which was finished around 950 a.d. This church was dedicated to St. Euphemia and St. George.
The church described above became too old and too small for the large number of worshippers, both inhabitants and visitors.

Because of this, the building of the present church started in 1725 on the same site. It dominated the town and offered the most beautiful views across the Adriatic Sea. The facade of the church is made of mason's srtone from the 19th century. The belfry is 63 metres high. It was built between 1654 and 1680 and was planned in the same style as the belfry of St. Mark's cathedral in Venice. At its peak is a copper statue of St. Euphemia. This was put in position later than 1680. The sacred statue has a palm and a wheel as symbols of martyrdom. Its position shows the direction of the wind, and reminds us always of the saintly time of the birth of Christianity, and when the Christian belief was paid for by the shedding of blood.

As soon as the visitor enters the church he finds peace and shade. The church is 51.11 metres long, 30.26 metres wide and 18 metres high. One will observe 3 large pews and 3 beautiful altars all made from white marble.
On the left is the altar of the sacred sacrament. In the centre is the beautiful main altar with the statues of St. George, St. Rochus and St. Mark. On the right side of the church is the altar od St. Euphemia. Her statue stands on the altar, and immediately behind is the Saint's body in the marble coffin, dating from the 4th or 5th century. This coffin was the focal point for many pilgrims in the past, as it is today.
The stone walls beside the coffin are covered with 2 large pictures: one shows the Saint with the lions in the amphitheatre, the other the arrival of the coffin on the shores of Rovinj.

Patient and curious visitors will find many other altars when they linger in the church: 1. the altar of the Madonna of the Rosary. 2. the altar of St. Francis. 3. the altar of St. Peter. 4. the altar of St. Michael on which we find the Madonna from Loreto and a marble relief of St. Michael . 5. the altar of the Madonna of Carmel with a valuable marble atatue. 6. the altar of St. Nicholas. 7. the altar of St. Sebastian which was probably the altar of St Euphemia in the old church. 8. the altar of St. Rochus.
Behind the main altar are situated some wooden canon's stalls which are made in a particularly beautiful way.
Peering into the sacristy, one can see some walnut wardrobes made in 1803, and on the walls some oil paintings one of which is particularly valuable - that of St. John the Baptist (the work of E. Zanfurnari - completed in the 16th century). The other four paintings in the sacristy (St. Antonio of Padova, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary Magdalena and St. Edward the King) are the works of the Tintoretti School. Some valuable silver objects in this area date from the 18th century.

There are several other churches to visit in the town with artistic and valuable items to observe inside.
Amongst the winding streets with their houses packed together, the winding waterfront and the mild splashing of the waves one still remembers the distant centuries and the first Christian believers, and also of the course the unusual arrival here of the coffin of St. Euphemia.