St. Mary of the Rocks (Beram)
The cemetery church of St. Mary of the Rocks, situated 1km to the north-east from Beram, within itself holds one of the most valuable acomplishments of Istrian medieval painting. Well preserved late-gothic frescos almost entirely cover the inner walls of the church, and they were made by master Vincent of Kastav. The paintings were commissioned by Beram confraternitiy of St. Mary, so most of their space is dedicated to scenes from lives of Mary and Jesus.
The strongest impression leaves the fresco called „Dance of the Dead“, where in front of our eyes kings, merchants, cardinals, even the Pope himself dance hand in hand with death. In the XVIII.cent., during the baroque period, the church was expanded and renovated, which caused most of the frescos to be damaged or destroyed. All the frescos were painted over and hidden at that time, and rediscovered and renovated in the year 1913.
