Page 142 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

140  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

and, in the chapel, the relics
of the martyr St Vincenca, the
object of veneration in the local
community. The cemetery
church of the Holy Cross and
that of St Jerome date from the
14th century.
Vela Luka
Situated about 45 km (28 miles)
west of Korčula is Vela Luka,
called “the oldest and the
newest town”, because it was
built at the beginning of the
The serene coastline of Lumbarda 19th century on the Neolithic
site of Vela Spilja. It is one of the
Lumbarda Arneri Castle, where the Civic largest towns on the island and
Lumbarda is a village 6 km Museum documenting local industries coexist with attractive
(4 miles) southeast of the town history is being set up, and bays and numerous islands.
of Korčula and is thought to All Saints’ Church (Svi Sveti), The hills surrounding the
have been founded by Greeks of medieval origin. This church town shelter this area from the
from Vis. It was called Eraclea by was enlarged and rebuilt in winds from the north and south.
the Romans. In the 16th century the 17th century and has an Vela Luka is also the main port
it became a holiday resort for altarpiece of the Virgin with Child on the island and there are
the nobles of Korčula. Some and Saints on the main altar by regular ferry services to Split
inscriptions from the Greek Girolamo di Santacroce (1540) and Lastovo.
period are now in the
Archaeological Museum
of Zagreb (see pp168–9).
Today this village is one of the
centres of production for the
liqueur-like white wine called
Grk, which is made from grapes
of the same name grown in the
sand. The nearby small beaches
are havens of tranquillity.
Blato
In the central square of Blato, a
town where the festival of the
Kumpanija (see p139) is held
every April, are an 18th-century
Baroque loggia, the Renaissance Lumbarda on the island of Korčula, one of the greenest in the Adriatic

The Stone of Dalmatia
The excellent quality of the stone in the Dalmatian
islands was known to the Romans, who used it to build
the monuments of Salona and Diocletian’s Palace in
Split. On Brač, the old Roman quarries are still visible
in Pučišća. Brač stone was used for the cathedral in Šibenik
(see pp110–11), for which Juraj Dalmatinac devised a method
of cutting the stone so that blocks interlocked without
mortar. Most of the palaces and churches in Venice are also
made of Dalmatian stone. Further afield, part of the White
House in Washington and the Royal Palace in Stockholm
were faced with stone from Brač. In Korčula, quarrying
ceased long ago, and stone cutting skills have largely
died out. However, the quarries on the small island of
Vrnik, facing Korčula, are still active and stone from here
was used in the church of St Sophia in Istanbul, the
Duke’s Palace in Dubrovnik and the United Nations
Ancient Roman quarries, Brač building in New York.

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

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