Have you visited the House of Istrian Olive Oil in Pula yet?
The House of Istrian Olive Oil, or the Olei Histriae Museum in Pula, is the project of entrepreneur Lorena Boljunčić and is the first museum dedicated to olives and olive oil in Croatia, reports Poslovni.hr on October 21, 2018.
The investments have not stopped since its opening in 2017, and after the first tourist season which saw more than 5,000 visitors from 50 countries worldwide, Lorena decided to procure new exhibits and expand her sales space. Now, besides Istrian olive oil, visitors can buy other local products – from truffles, wines, and olive wood handicrafts to natural cosmetics and craft beer.
You can find more than just olive oil at the House of Istrian Olive Oil
A new life breathes into the almost 500 square meter space, which is a former Austro-Hungarian building, and in addition to the museum space, the House of Istrian Olive Oil has a tasting and sales section that has been extended this season. Lorena Boljunčić, who brought this museum to life in less than a year, achieved her wish and the goal of launching the museum from scratch – and she invested some 2 million kuna into the project. As she says, if Istrian olive growers were not so successful and internationally awarded, the project would not have been either.
Visitors are coming from all over the world
“In a single place in the city, everything is presented by our farmers from the Istrian villages. We have expanded our offer and shelves in the sales area, and now we offer products from 100 Istrian manufacturers. In the area, we have two new replicas of mills and a press for processing olives, and new ethnographic details like scales and oysters,” Boljunčić said, pointing out that this tourist season was better than last year, and tourists flocked from all continents. Most of the visitors came from German-speaking areas, followed by the USA.
“This year there were many French guests, and we had guests from both Singapore and Hong Kong. We are in a number of tourist guides, which gives us even more visitors, and excellent ratings on TripAdvisor are also certainly a testament to the many visitors we welcome,” says Boljunčić who noted that they attract mostly individual visits to the museum over group visits. The museum uses an audio system in 12 languages, and tastings are conducted in Croatian, English, German and Italian.
Olive oil tastings are even done using special bread to ensure the best overall tasting experience you can find
After visiting the museum, visitors can also enjoy a tasting of Istrian oils, each of which has been recognized with medals and international awards. For the purposes of the tasting, the House of Istrian Olive Oil has cooperated with Brionka bakery, who makes bread for them without additives and extra salt to ensure a better overall tasting.
Boljunčić notes that they also offer information on manufacturers in their sales section, encouraging tourists to visit their olive groves and get to know their on-site offer and the producers themselves. “In December, our famous sculptor Josip Diminić will present his dedication to olive oil, which will become part of our permanent exhibition at our museum,” Lorena Boljunčić concluded.
