Editing Roč

{{other uses|Roc (disambiguation){{!}}Roc}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Roč
| native_name        = 
| other_name         = Rozzo
| settlement_type    = Village
| image_skyline      = Roč, Hrvatska, crkva (20070107-0868).jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = St Bartholomew's church and St Anthony Abbot's church
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| pushpin_map        = Croatia
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| coordinates        = {{coord|45|24|N|14|3|E|region:HR-18|display=inline}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{CRO}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Counties of Croatia|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[File:Zastava Istarske županije.svg|border|23px]] [[Istria County|Istria]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Municipalities of Croatia|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[File:Zastava Buzeta.svg|8px]] [[Buzet]]
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref>{{Cite Q|Q119585703|mode=cs1}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 3.6
| area_land_km2      = 
| elevation_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.istra.hr/en/regions-and-towns/town-and-cities/ltz-buzet/buzet-and-surroundings/roc|title=Roč|work=istra.hr|publisher=Istria Tourist Board|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref>
| elevation_m        = 348
| elevation_ft       = 
| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2021">{{Croatian Census 2021|S}}</ref>
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_total   = 187
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_urban   = 
| population_density_urban_km2 = 
| population_metro   = 
| population_note    = 
| timezone           = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| timezone_DST       = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset         = +1
| utc_offset_DST     = +2
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = 52 425
| area_code          = 052
}}

'''Roč''' ({{langx|it|Rozzo}}; {{langx|de|Rotz}}) is a village in [[Istria County]], north-west [[Croatia]]. Administratively it belongs to the [[List of cities and towns in Croatia|town]] of [[Buzet]]. Roč is considered a historic town rather than a village due to its rich cultural heritage.

==Geography==
[[File:Ročko polje, Hrvatska (20070107-0861).jpg|thumb|left|View from town wall]]
It is situated in the northwest of the [[Istria]]n peninsula, southwest of the [[Ćićarija]] plateau. The village is located about {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} south-east of [[Trieste]] on the road via [[Koper]] and the [[Učka Tunnel]] ([[B8 (Croatia)|B8]]) to [[Rijeka]]. Roč station is also a stop on the Istrian Railway (''Istarske pruge'') line from [[Divača]] via [[Podgorje, Koper|Podgorje]] to [[Pula]].

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2015}}
The name Roč or ''Rozzo'' derive from the [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] ''Roz''.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} The related name Roc is very common in wide areas under [[Celts]] influence. The present-day settlement was first mentioned as ''Rus'' in a document of 1064.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} The area was settled in [[Protohistory|protohistoric]] times. [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] called it ''Castrum Rotium'' or ''Rocium''. The town was founded in prehistory, as an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] settlement. After the Roman Empire incorporation of Istria, it became  a Roman ''castrum'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Roč (Rozzo) |url=https://www.istra.hr/it/destinazioni/buzet/vivete/831 |website=www.istra.hr |publisher=Official tourist website of the Istria Tourist Board |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112154242/https://www.istra.hr/it/destinazioni/buzet/vivete/831c |archive-date=12 January 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> becoming an important settlement for the Romans since the second century BC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roc – Rozzo: "Castrum Rotium" |url=https://www.smrikve.com/istria/books/smrikve/places/central-istria/roc/page-2/ |publisher=Istria from Smrikve}}</ref> Numerous findings from the Roman period were discovered in the area or Roč (Rozzo) and Buzet (Pinguente).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jurkic-Girardi |first1=Vesna |title=Monumenti romani sul territorio di Pinguente e Rozzo |pages=1–38 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/353546}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Buzet Istria |url=http://histrica.com/istria/green/buzet/#:~:text=Buzet%20has%20been%20inhabited%20since,new%20settlements%20of%20population%20began. |website=www.histrica.com |publisher=Histrica}}</ref>

While the former [[March of Istria]] was gradually incorporated into the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] ''[[Stato da Màr]]'', Roč from the 12th century onwards developed to a fortified town and a centre of [[Slavic literature]]. The local Church of St. Anthony holds the precious Roč [[Glagolitic]] Abecedarium from the 13th century. The first Croatian printed book, the 1483 ''[[Missale Romanum Glagolitice]]'', was prepared in Roč by one Juri Žakan. By the 1797 [[Treaty of Campo Formio]], Istria fell to the [[Habsburg monarchy]] and later became part of the [[Austrian Littoral]]. After World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, Istria including Rozzo  was partitioned to Italy in the Treaty of Rapallo (1920). After the end of World War II, Istria including Rozzo was ceded to Yugoslavia. After the breakup of [[Yugoslavia]] in 1991, most of Istria (including Roč) became part of present-day [[Republic of Croatia]].

==Demographics==
According to the 2021 census, its population was 187.<ref name="Census 2021" /> It was 153 in 2011.<ref name="census2011">{{Croatian Census 2011|S|18|0434|accessdate=2013-12-31}}</ref>

==Sights==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2015}}
[[File:Roč, Hrvatska, vela vrata (20070107-0872).jpg|thumb|Town gate]]
The town of Roč is declared by the authorities as an important cultural monument, as it has a well-preserved medieval [[Defensive wall|town wall]]s with two entrances, a Roman [[lapidarium]], a Venetian bombarda [[cannon]] and a functional [[watchtower]]. Furthermore, it has the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] church of St Anthony dating from the 11th century, the small St Roch Church with several notable 14th-century [[fresco]]es representing St Paul and the Apostles, as well as the St Bartholomew parish church built from the 14th century onward with its prominent {{convert|26|m|ft|abbr=on}} high steeple erected in 1676. Numerous other smaller artifacts are preserved in the ancient buildings.

Seven kilometers from Roč is [[Hum, Croatia|Hum]], with a population of only 22 people often called the smallest town in the world. Along the road from Roč to Hum is [[Glagolitic Alley]] (''Aleja glagoljaša''), a scenic route of ten monuments constructed in 1977-81 representing the history of the [[Glagolitic alphabet]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite encyclopedia |date=2013–2024 |author=Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža |title=Roč |url=https://enciklopedija.hr/clanak/roc |encyclopedia=Hrvatska enciklopedija |edition=online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405091031/https://enciklopedija.hr/clanak/roc |archive-date=2024-04-05}}

{{coord|45|24|N|14|03|E|region:HR_type:city|display=title}}
{{Buzet municipality}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roc}}
[[Category:Populated places in Istria County]]