The Bettica Palace

The Bettica Palace was most probably erected in the 14th century. The Bettica family, after whom it was named, became its owner in the 16th century. Before they moved to the palace, the Bettica family had lived in other Vodnjan palaces, some of which they had restored, bearing today their family crest with the bishop's wort on it. During the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the palace was often changing its owners. It underwent numerous partitions, from condominium subdivision to re-purposing the ground floor premises. In the 1930s, a descendant of the Bettica family bought a part of the palace, which was then declared a protected monument of culture. Having finished the long lasting restoration and adaptation, the Vodnjan Museum was opened in the Bettica Palace, exhibiting its material history. Archaeological findings of the early medieval sacral structures are exhibited on its ground floor, while the first floor holds a valuable collection of paintings which was left to the town of Vodnjan by Gaetano Gresler in 1818. The second floor is dedicated to the palace itself, to its history and restoration works, during which the remains of the Renaissance mural painting were found.