Luxury villas to rent on Losinj

Discover Losinj

Situated in the northern Adriatic Sea, Losinj is a beautiful Croatian island popular for its lovely unspoilt bays, beaches, and lush green vegetation. With many walking trails and cycling paths, it offers plenty of scope for outdoor enthusiasts. The island is also known for its abundance of herbs, many with therapeutic aromatherapy properties.

Due to its strategic location between the Croatian mainland and Italy, Losinj has a fascinating history. Under Venetian rule from 1000 to 1358, it was then ruled by the Croatian-Hungarian kingdom for around 60 years, then returned to the Venetian Empire, under which it remained until the Empire’s fall in 1797. It subsequently became part of the Austrian Empire from 1814 until World War 1, then given to Italy in 1920 by the Treaty of Rapallo. Following World War 2, it became part of Yugoslavia, then finally part of Croatia when it declared independence in 1991.

The beautiful main town on the island, Mali Losinj, home to the two very special villas we feature, is set on a long natural harbour, centred around Cikat Bay, known for its sandy and pebble beaches, fringed by pine trees. With a very charming historic quarter, Mali Losinj is known for its imposing 19th-century sea-captains’ houses which line the seafront, as well as a good selection of restaurants and bars. It also home to the Church of St Martin, built between 1450 and 1490, and the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, built in the first half of the 18th century. The latter contains paintings of the Virgin Mary by Venetian artist Vivarin. Other attractions here include the Museum of Lošinj, in the Fritzi Palace, with Italian baroque and modern Croatian paintings, and the Museum of Apoxyomenos with a 1st/2nd-century-B.C. bronze statue of an athlete, recovered from the sea.