Rasa

Rasa was designed by the Trieste architect Gustavo Pulitzer Finali and built in 1936 and 1937 to house the workers of the Istrian coal mines, laid out complete with housing, school, market, cinema and church on a drained valley floor - the whole thing put up in 547 days, a figure the state of the time made much of. The church of St Barbara, patron of miners, is the piece that stops people: its roof is a long curved shell that reads as an overturned mine wagon, and the bell tower is built to suggest a pithead lamp. The mines closed in 1999 and the town has been quiet since, its architecture largely intact.

What you actually see

• A town built in 547 days - complete with school, cinema and market.
• A church like an upturned wagon - St Barbara, patron of miners.
• A bell tower as a pithead lamp - the same design language.
• Intact 1930s planning - little altered since the mines closed in 1999.

When to go

Year round; there is no season to it. Two hours.

Honest expectations

This is a small working town, not a museum - buildings are lived in and the church may be locked. It is quiet to the point of empty. There is little in the way of cafes or services. The interest is architectural rather than scenic.

Nearby

Labin is on the hill above; Rabac and the coast are east.