Page 155 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia
P. 155

D ALM A TIA      153


                                               housed in the 16th-century
                                               Rector’s Palace. The works
                                               of the painter Vlaho Bukovac
                                               are especially fine.
                                                 At the end of the seafront
                                               is the church of Our Lady
                                               of Snow (Gospa Snježna)
                                               and a Franciscan monastery,
                                               both from the end of the
                                               15th cen tury. On the hilltop
                                               stands the Račić Mausoleum
                                               built by Ivan Meštrović (see
                                               p163) in 1922.

                                               m Konavle
                                               Map F6. n Zidine 6, Cavtat,
                                               (020) 478 025. ∑ visit.cavtat-
       Šunj beach on the southeast coast of Lopud, one of the Elaphite islands
                                               konavle.com
       The churches of St Anthony   n Cavtat   The area southeast of Cavtat
       and St Nicholas have pre-  Map F6. * 2,500. 4 from Dubrovnik,   occupies a narrow piece of
       Romanesque origins, while the   (020) 478 065. @ from Dubrovnik.    land between the sea and
       Parish Church dates from the   n Zidine 6, (020) 478 025.    the mountains of Bosnia-
       15th century.       _ Summer in Cavtat, Epidaurus   Herzegovina. Its name derives
                           Festival. ∑ visit.cavtat-konavle.com  from the channels (canalis)
       Lopud                                   which collected the water to
       The island, measuring 4.6 sq km   Cavtat is the Croatian name    supply the aqueduct – of which
       (1.7 sq miles), has a fertile valley   for Civitas Vetus, the site of the   some traces remain – for the
       sheltered from the cold winds   Roman town of Epidaurum,   Roman town of Epidaurum.
       by two ranges of hills. Most of   destroyed by the Avars in      The hilly areas are covered
       the inhabitants live in Lopud,    the 7th century (occasional   in vineyards and olive groves.
       a village in a bay. The two forts,   excavations have revealed the   The small villages maintain the
       now in ruins, date from the    remains of a theatre, several   old customs and traditional
       16th century and the Franciscan   tombs and parts of a road).   costumes are still worn by
       monastery is from 1483. The     The beauty of the area, the   the inhabitants. Konavle
       monastery church, St Mary of   beaches, the luxuriant vegeta-  was heavily damaged by
       Spilica (Sv. Marija od Špilica),   tion and the monuments   bombing in 1991.
       contains a polyptych by Pietro   attract many visitors to the     This area is also renowned
       di Giovanni (1520), a triptych by   present-day village.  for its excellent cuisine and
       Nikola Božidarević, a painting by     The Baltazar Bogišić   there are numerous restaurants.
       Leandro da Bassano, a triptych   Collection, assembled and     One of the best known is
       by Gerolamo di Santacroce    donated by the scholar and   Konavoski Dvori, housed
       and a carved choir from the   jurist of the 19th century,    in a watermill near the waterfalls
       15th century.       whose birthplace this is, is   of the River Ljuta.
         Šunj, in the southeast,
       draws visitors because of its
       sandy beach, but the church
       is also worth visiting for its
       many works of art, including
       a painting by Palma il Giovane
       and a polyptych (1452) by
       Matej Junčić.
       Šipan
       This is the largest of the Elaphite
       Islands (15.5 sq km/6 sq miles)
       and there are two towns. In
       Šipanska Luka stands the
       pre-Romanesque church of
       St Michael and the ruins of a
       Benedictine monastery. In
       Suđurađ there is a castle and
       the ruins of a bishop’s palace.  The pretty seafront and port of Cavtat




   152-153_EW_Croatia.indd   153                            20/10/16   12:29 pm
   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160