Page 132 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

130  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

a Hvar

Art treasures, a mild climate, good beaches and fields of
scented lavender make this island one of the treasures of the
Adriatic. Limestone hills form the central ridge. Hvar’s story
begins in the 4th century BC when the Greeks from Paros
founded Pharos (the present-day Stari Grad) and Dimos (Hvar
town). Traces have been left by the Romans, the Byzantines, the
medieval Croatian kings and the Venetians, who ruled from
1278 until 1797. After 1420, defences were built, and the capital
was moved from Pharos to Hvar town. In 1886, under Austria-
Hungary, the Hvar Hygienic Society began to promote the Main square of Hvar, with the Cathedral
town as a health resort. Hvar was an important centre of of St Stephen
Croatian culture during the Renaissance, when local-born
poets Hanibal Lucić and Petar Hektorović both wrote lyrically which he vividly describes a
about the people and landscapes of the Adriatic. fishing trip around the islands
of Hvar, Brač and Šolta. He
began building the Tvrdalj in
1514, intending for it to be both
a palatial private house and a
fortified sanctuary into which
the local population could
retreat should there be an
attack by pirates. The Tvrdalj was
intended to be a self-sustaining
unit, with a garden, a dovecote
and a seawater fishpond were
included within its walls.
Hektorović placed philosophical
inscriptions in Latin on the walls
of the Tvrdalj, turning his home
Narrow street between traditional stone houses in Stari Grad into a unique monument to
Renaissance humanist thought.
Hvar Town a picturesque old quarter of low Nearby is Stari Grad
See pp132–3. stone houses and tiny streets. Museum, housed in the
The 17th-century parish Church Renaissance Biankini Palace.
Stari Grad of St Stephen (Sv. Stjepan), It contains a stunning collection
Founded by the Syracusans with its free-standing Venetian- of Greek amphorae, some
in the 4th century BC and style bell tower, is the principal beautifully restored period
originally called Pharos, Stari landmark. At the western end rooms, and a picture gallery
Grad (literally, the Old Town) of the old quarter is the Tvrdalj, devoted to local artists, includ-
is still Hvar’s main ferry port, the fortified residence of ing the gifted, Paris-trained Juraj
despite having lost its political Renaissance poet Petar Plančić (1899–1930). The Moira
and cultural importance to Hvar Hektorović . Hektorović is best Gallery at Vagonj 1 shows
town. Stari Grad lies at the end known as the author of Ribanje i contemporary art and contains
of a long bay and the main ribarsko prigovaranje (Fishing and fragments of Roman mosaic
sights are scattered throughout Fishermen’s Conversation) in in the floor.

Stari Grad Vrboska
SVETI KLEMENT Jelsa
Poljica
Hvar HVAR
PAKLENI ISLANDS
Zavala
ŠĆEDRO

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp228–30 and pp240–45

130-131_EW_Croatia.indd 130 20/10/16 12:32 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm