Nowadays Risan is a small green town in the Kotor Bay. But its history goes back to the oldest settlement of this region and back to the Bronze Age. Later it was an ancient Greek colony, Illyrian settlement and then this territory was conquered by Romans.
Risan is well-known by its Roman mosaics of the 2th century AD. The remains of Roman villa were found by French at the beginning of 19th century. The floors of this ancient villa were covered by mosaics. Now this is a museum.
The most famous mosaic is of God Gypnos, for now it is the only known mosaic of the God of sleep in the whole world so it is truly unique.
Together with Roman mosaics you can see other archaeological foundings in the museum, including parts of ancient columns, amphoras, etc.
In the 21st century, Polish archaeologists found the remains of Illyrian palace not far from this villa with mosaics so more findings are expected to follow.
While walking around Risan, you will notice St Peter and Paul’s Orthodox Church which also has a rich history. First built in 1601, it was reconstructed at the end of 18th century. Masters from Italy and Russia took part in the decoration of the Church and the bells for it were made in Trieste.