Sveti Petuj manor and the St. Pelagius chapel remnants

Sveti Petuj manor, also known as Silić manor

Today, the manor is abandoned and consists of a residential and an economic wing with a barn and a gazebo, which is divided by a central vehicular entrance.

It is interesting that the stable is on the site of the former medieval church of St. Pelagius, which, remaining outside the cult, was incorporated into the architecture of the manor in the 19th century. Three walls of the church have been completely preserved, while the northeast wall was demolished due to the extension of the barn. There were frescoes in the church, the remaining parts of which (Ascension, Martyrdom of St. Pelagius) from the 14th century were removed from the wall and today are in the parish office in Buje.

The building itself dates to the 18th century which was noted in bishop Tommasini’s records. He noted that the interior of the church or chapel is painted with scenes from the life of St. Pelagius. The church belonged to the diocese of Novigrad and was desacralized in 1786. Thanks to the frescoes, the Sveti Petuj manor was declared a cultural monument.

In 2020, the film The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek was shot in Croatia, specifically in Istria, Rijeka, Karlovac, Zagreb, Pisarovina and the island of Biševo. Among the many locations in Istria where the film was shot, the Sveti Petuj manor “acted” as a Tuscan barn.

Date of visit: 22.04.2020

Sources

• Freske s prizorima iz života Sv. Pelagija „podstanarke „ u bujskom župnom uredu. (n.d.). Naši Ljudi. https://nasiljudi-gentenostra.hr/vijest/freske-s-prizorima-iz-zivota-sv-pelagija-podstanarke-u-bujskom-zupnom-uredu/826
• Viatrix. (20211, November 1). Kostanjica – čuvarica obližnjeg Završja. Viatrix Blog. Retrieved December 10, 2022, from https://blog.dnevnik.hr/viatrix/2022/11/1632393308/kostanjica-cuvarica-obliznjeg-zavrsja.html