Istria, Croatia · near Sveti Lovreč
Casa Frieda
A house that asks you to slow down.
Istria, Croatia · near Sveti Lovreč
A house that asks you to slow down.
The house
Casa Frieda stands in the green interior of Istria, at the edge of the small village of Barat, a few minutes from the old stone walls of Sveti Lovreč and half an hour from the sea at Poreč. The village is behind you to the north; the pool, the loggia and the terrace all face the other way, out over fields and olive trees. Close enough to everything. Far enough to hear the evening.
A white house with green shutters, set among olive trees at the top of its own gravel drive. A deep loggia runs the length of the ground floor, holding shade all day; above it, a first-floor terrace opens to the view. The house was made with care rather than haste — natural materials, generous light, and beds you actually sleep in.
Days here find their own rhythm. Coffee under the loggia. Shutters drawn against the midday heat, the rooms staying cool. The long blue of the pool through the afternoon. In the evening the table outside fills up, the lamps come on, and nobody is in a hurry to go in.
Inside
The ground floor is one long, easy space — kitchen, a table that seats everyone, and a living room to sink into afterwards. Doors open straight onto the loggia, so most days the inside and the outside stop being separate.
Upstairs, two double bedrooms sit under open beams, each with its own bathroom: one with a deep bath set beneath a window that looks out over the fields, the other a shower room tiled in dark green. Between them, a small sitting room opens onto the upper terrace — the place people drift to with a book, and where a sofa bed folds out to 140 cm for two more.
The beds are the part we would ask you to notice. Pronatura mattresses on a natural sleeping system, chosen the way we would choose them for ourselves. Both bedrooms have mosquito nets, air conditioning for when the afternoon turns heavy, and metal shutters that keep the rooms dark and cool while the sun does its worst.
Rooms & light
Outside & around
The pool runs the length of the terrace, with loungers, an umbrella and a dry stone wall between you and the fields. At night it is lit, and the sky here is dark enough to be worth looking at. Sveti Lovreč is seven minutes away — supermarket, pharmacy, and the walls of the old village; Poreč and the sea are twenty-five minutes; Pula airport forty.
This is the green, farmed interior of Istria rather than the coast — quieter, cooler, and better for the long lunch than the beach parade. The sea is there whenever you want it, but plenty of guests find they go less often than they planned. When we do go, it is usually to Orlandin at Vrsar, where you can swim and then eat without moving very far. For a whole day at the sea with everything laid on, the Meneghetti beach club is lovely — about forty minutes, and you pay for the loungers.
For food, Poreč has a very good market; go early, before the crowds arrive. The larger supermarkets, Lidl and Müller among them, are on the outskirts of town — and there is a McDonald's out there too, should anyone in your party campaign hard enough for it.
We should say plainly that this is a village house, not a house alone in the countryside. Fields and olive trees on three sides; to the north, the parking, our neighbour, and the rest of Barat beyond. Our neighbour also lets his house, so on some weeks you will hear other people enjoying their holiday. Most days it is birds, wind and the occasional tractor — but we would rather you knew before you booked than discovered it on arrival.
Practicalities
The pool
The pool is open and unfenced, and 1.5 m deep. There is no lifeguard and no pool alarm. Children and non-swimmers must be supervised at all times by an adult in their party, and guests swim at their own risk.
The property is officially categorised and holds the required permits. The cellar is fenced off. If you are travelling with small children and would like to talk this through before booking, please write — we would rather have the conversation early.
And the name
Frieda was our beloved Tibetan Terrier. Sadly she died during Covid. She loved this house and would fiercely protect it — and in her way she still does, barking in neon above the kitchen counter, keeping one eye on the door.
The house carries her name because it was always, a little, hers.
“A line from you, or from a guest — the thing people say when they leave.”
Stay
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