Page 86 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Croatia

84  CRO A TIA AREA B Y AREA

b Rab windows. In the courtyard
are some Roman and
The island of Rab lies parallel to the Velebit massif, creating medieval remains.
a channel which was much dreaded by sailors because it
forms a tunnel for the cold, dry bora wind which makes this R Monastery and Church
part of the coast rocky and barren. The opposite, western of St Andrew
Sv. Andrija
side of the island is protected from the wind and the climate Ulica Ivana Rabljanina, Rab.
is mild. Here the landscape is much greener and maquis This small Romanesque church
alternates with woods of pine, oak and holm oak. The Romans is annexed to a Benedictine
knew the island by the name of Arba, or Scadurna, and, after convent founded in 1118. The
its conquest, built a settlement on the site of the present-day bell tower, the oldest in Rab,
is from the following century.
town of Rab. This island is a popular holiday destination with The belfry has trefoil windows.
its sandy beaches, rocky coves and mild climate.
R Cathedral of St Mary
the Great
Rab Town Katedrala Sv. Marija Velika
The main town, Rab, Ulica Ivana Rabljanina, Rab.
which gives its name This splendid Romanesque
to the island, became building was consecrated by
a bishopric in the early Pope Alexander III in 1177. The
Christian period and façade has alternating layers
was inhabited by of pink and white stone and
Slavic people in the above the portal is a sculpted
6th century. After it Deposition by Petar Trogiranin
had been conquered The town of Rab with its four bell towers dating from 1514. The three-
by the Franks, it was aisle interior, divided by
administered by Venice and a the Old Town on the southern columns, has a beautiful
treaty of mutual defence was point of the peninsula were baptismal font made by the
agreed upon which lasted until destroyed, and in the 15th same sculptor in 1497, and a
1000 AD. Rab was at times century a wall was built which polyptych by Paolo Veneziano
under the rule of the Hungarian also enclosed the New Town, (1350) on the altar.
kings until 1409, when it called Varoš. Part of this wall In the presbytery is a
became Venetian territory. is well preserved, particularly splendid altar canopy with
Venice ruled the island the stretch facing the bay of marble columns and on
until 1797. St Euphemia. the main altar, surrounded
The town, famous for its by an ornate wooden choir,
four bell towers which make it P Loggia is a reliquary from the 12th
look like a ship with four masts, Srednja ulica, Rab. century with the remains of
has some lovely Venetian Where the main road, Srednja St Christopher.
architecture. Along the three ulica, widens out, there is a The 13th-century bell tower
main streets are fine aristocratic beautiful Venetian loggia, built stands 70 m (230 ft) away from
buildings with Romanesque in 1506 in Renaissance style, the cathedral. It is the tallest of
doorways, such as the Nimira, and a granary (fondak). To the all the bell towers on the island.
Tudorin, Kukulić, Galzigna and left is the Sea Gate (Morska
Cassio Palaces. The ancient vrata), a tower from the
medieval walls that encircled 14th century. Through the
gate is the town square.
P Prince’s Palace
Knežev dvor
Trg Municipium Arba, Rab. Tel (051)
724 064. Open call for opening times.
The port and the town square
are the heart of Rab, and this is
also where the Prince’s Palace
was built in the 13th century in
the Romanesque style. It was
later enlarged in the Gothic
style and then rebuilt in the
Renaissance style. It has
Sea Gate, one of the ways into the Venetian Gothic windows and The bell tower of the Cathedral of St Mary
town of Rab Renaissance mullioned the Great
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp226–8 and pp238–40

084-085_EW_Croatia.indd 84 20/10/16 12:31 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm