On the top of a hill, in the picturesque town of Motovun, on the main square, is a "time machine" that will take you back several centuries with its magical story, to a historical period that is among the most responsible for the present-day appearance of this jewel in the interior of Istria’s crown.

The Antico town printing house is impressive thanks to its decoration as well as to its original souvenirs made in the traditional technique of manual printing on a replica of a medieval machine - Gutenberg's printing press.

The paper used for the print is also handmade, and each sheet contains part of Motovun’s forest. Carefully selected and collected fallen vegetation is processed in the workshop of a famous Slovenian master of medieval hand printing. Jure Bralić, the initiator and creator of the Motovun printing house, was also apprenticed alongside Master Janez.

Characters from Istrian legends and idyllic Motovun landscapes can be found in the gorgeous graphics and illustrations that he designs, draws and prints using the ancient methodology... You can choose the artistic motifs and a personal message for yourself and thus immortalize your day in Motovun!

He welcomes visitors dressed in medieval costume, as an apprentice of the "black art", the art of printing, the foundation of which was laid by Johannes Gensfleisch Gutenberg, a craftsman from Mainz on the River Rhine. Around 1440, he constructed a wooden press with which he applied black printing ink to paper, and thus in 1455/56 completed the "42-Line Bible", which was the first printed book with a circulation of between 100 and 300 copies.

The unique and indispensable Motovun manufactory that revives the past of medieval Istria was named after Andrea Antico da Montona, a famous publisher, composer and note printer who was born at the end of the 15th century in this small but impressive little town.

Opening hours 2024:
01.01. - 30.04.: on announcement
01.05. - 31.10.: 16:00 - 21:00 closed on Mondays
01.11. - 31.12.: on announcement

Gradska tiskara Antico/Print House Antico
Trg Andrea Antico, HR-52424 Motovun
Contact: +385 99 331 7020, jurebralic@gmail.com
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