35. Maroon festival

Marunada (Chestnut Days) is a gastronomic festival that takes place in Lovran, a town that has always been famous for its sweet fruits: figs, grapes, olives, cherries, wild plants and of course sweet chestnuts, locally called the maruni - hence the name of the festival. Their quality was praised by J.W. Valvasor in the 17th century and travel writers and explorers like Dragutin Hirc at the end of the 19th century. The Marunada takes place in the second half of October in Lovran, Dobreč and Liganj. This much-appreciated type of chestnut grows only here on Liburnia, in the area between Ika and Mošćenička Draga. It originates from the northern Greek province of Thessaly. Two ways of categorising the chestnut are distinguished here: the branac falls naturally from the trees and is gathered from the ground, but it doesn't last long and must be consumed quickly, while the dubenac is shaken from the trees, left lying in heaps for about three weeks, and then taken out from its cupules. Chestnuts treated in this way are highly appreciated and can be preserved until Christmas. The Marunada, the traditional gastronomic chestnut festival since 1973, includes a wide choice of various delicacies made of this rare sweet chestnut.

You can participate in picking up chestnuts, lectures about their healing characteristics, and taste traditionally prepared delicacies of nature - numeral food and sweetmeat of Lovran chestnuts.