The name of the village is supposed to be linked to the noble family of de’Cani, who build here their house (Villa Canum), which still stands today. On the house, you can see the aristocratic emblem of the family with the year of 1479.
The Slovenian translation of the last name (and later the name of the village) is “dog” or “from dogs”, so the village is also named “Pasja vas” (Dog Village), and the locals are also called “Pesjani” or “Pisjani” (the Dogs). This translation was preserved from around 1300 (the period of settling of the Slavs in the area of Koper) until today.
Although the village was first mentioned in the beginning of the 13th century, five archaeological sites and one archaeological area bear witness to prehistoric and antique settlements.
In the village, you can visit a Gothic church from the 13th century, the Church of the Assumption of Mary, with the bell tower of Aquileia type from 1841. At the graveyard, you can see the chapel of the Grieving Mother of God built in 1858.
The area of the mill, bridge and viaduct in Brtuci is also interesting to see. The stone bridge is from 1682, while the mill at the Rižana millstream before the dam, with a multi-level crossing of the stream and millstream, as well as the water viaduct date back to 1935.
In Dekani, you will also find the oldest type of preserved transformer station at the Slovenian coast from 1938.
The visit of Dekani would not be complete without visiting the former narrow-gouge track Trieste–Poreč (Parenzana – Porečanka).
The village of Dekani with a rich sports park and a football club with rich tradition is also known as a football village.
