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Mail Losinj
The Kvarner Gulf
Straggling along either side of a deep sheltered bay, MALI LOŠINJ is a fast-growing resort whose outer layers of apartment and bungalow developments have failed to destroy the charm of its elegant core , where slender cypresses and spiky green palms poke up between tiers of peach and orange houses, covered in purple bougainvillea. Most of the hotels have been kept well out of the way on the Cikat peninsula just west of town, together with an enormous campsite and the island's most crowded beaches.

Most life in Mali Losinj revolves around the quayside Riva loginjskih kapetana, where rows of potted cacti and subtropical plants line a harbourfront overrun in summer with souvenir stalls and cafe tables. The Riva's southern end opens out into the triangular open space of Trg Republike Hrvatske, from where BraćeVidulića, the main street, runs inland through the oldest part of town. Once you've clambered around the stepped alleys and winding streets, there's not much to see save the Art Collections (Umjetničke zbirke), displayed in the former House of Culture just behind the harbourfront atVladimira Gortana 35. Inside lie the combined hoards of two private collectors, beginning with that of art critic Andro Vid Mihi66, which concentrates on Croatian twentieth-century works, notably the mottled cityscapes of Paris-trained EmanuelVidovic (1870-1953).The second collection, that of Giuseppe Piperata - a Loknj doctor who emigrated to Italy in 1945 but was prevented from taking his most valuable paintings with him - inclines more towards the Baroque. Highlights include Francesco Solimena's busy and agitated Meeting with Rebecca, and 11 Guercino's more contemplative Allegorical Landscape with Female Figures, a pastoral scene of washerwomen beside a duck-filled pond. The best place to swim is around Cikat Bay, 3km west of town, where a coastal path runs past a succession of concreted bathing areas, rocky beaches and a couple of stretches of pebble. It's a laidback area, good for strolling whatever the season, with Habsburg holiday villas sheltering among wind-bent tamarisks and pines, and cafes and shacks renting out snorkelling gear and surfboards along the more popular stretches.


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