Beli (Croatia)
Beli is a small place on the island of Cres in the Kvarner Bay ( Croatia ). Cres is the northern island of a double island that was separated by a puncture in Roman times.
Location, traffic
Beli is located in the north of the island of Cres, a little above the east coast. It can only be reached by land via a serpentine branch of road 100 from Porozina (the ferry port in the north-west of the island, which is called from Brestova on the east coast of Istria). Beli is the only still inhabited village in the Tramuntana (Italian: Tramontana, "behind the mountain"), the landscape in the northeast of the island with a karst plateau several hundred meters high and an even higher ridge. It also has a port that is significantly lower than the village itself. There is also a campsite near the port. Beli lies in a landscape that is still used for cultivation of olive and fruit trees, vines, figs, broad beans, onions and leeks. The natural forest consists of Central European mixed deciduous forests. It can also be reached by bus from the town of Cres three days a week.
population
Beli is said to have been inhabited by more than 1000 people after the end of World War II. In 2014 there were still 33 people living in the village. The everyday language is still an Italian dialect, which is also spoken by most of the inhabitants of Istria and referred to as "Venetian". The poet Andro Vid Mihiĉić (1896–1992) came from Beli and did not begin to write poetry until he was 92 years old.
Attractions
- Roman Bridge: It can be reached from a small path in front of the café, which in turn is in front of the traffic-calmed entrance zone of the village. The bridge is the only surviving ancient Roman bridge in Kvarner .
- Eco Trail Staza Tramuntana hiking trail: The hiking trail was opened in 1995 and leads through the southern tip of the Tramuntana. It is lined with works of art by the stonemason Ljubo de Karina. The inscriptions come from Andro Vid Mihiĉić, who called them "food for the soul". The hiking trail begins with the path that leads over the Roman bridge after about 100 meters. On it you pass the restored chapel of Sv. Ivan Kritelj.
