Opatija, often called the Nice of the Adriatic, is one of the most popular tourist resorts in Croatia and a place with the longest tourist tradition on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. In 1844 the powerful merchant Higinio von Scarpa erected Villa Angiolina, with beautiful green and a lavish park around it, visited by distinguished guests - the Croatian Viceroy Josip Jelacic, the Austrian empress Maria Anna - which soon made Opatija a popular excursion destination of the inhabitants from Rijeka, then of the Italians and Austrians.