Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

474 SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp502–505 and pp506–507

Hvar Town
This beautiful town is one
of the most visited on the
eastern coast of the Adriatic
Sea, thanks to the treasures
within its 13th-century walls.
During Venetian rule, local
nobles and governors decided
to make the town a safe
harbour for the fleets going
to, or return ing from, the
Orient. They also transferred
the bishopric and built
monasteries there.
Hvar has a long tradition
of art and culture. It is home
to one of the first theatres

ever built in Europe. The

town was also the birthplace

of the Renaissance poet

Hanibal Lucić (c. 1485–1553)

and the playwright Martin

Benetović (c. 1550–1607).

The town’s most important

buildings stand on three sides

of the main square, the fourth

side is open to the sea. The

Renaissance Cathedral of

St Stephen (Katedrala sv

Stjepana) has a trefoil pedi-

ment and a 17th-century bell

tower standing to one side.

The interior contains many

works of art including

Virgin and Saints (1627)

by Palma il Giovane (1544–

1628), pietà (c. 1520) by Juan

Boschetus, Virgin with Saints

(1692) by Domenico Uberti

and a fine 16th-century

wooden choir.

The Clock Tower, the civic

Loggia below and Hektorović

Palace (Hektorovićeva Palača),

recognizable by the beautiful

Venetian Gothic mullioned

window, all date from the

15th century.

On the south side of the

square is the Arsenal, which

dates from the late 16th

century. A theatre was built

on the first floor in 1612. This

was the first “public theatre”

in the Balkans; people of all

classes could come and watch

perfor mances here, regardless

of their social standing.

Outside the walls of the

Old Town are the Franciscan

Monastery (Franjevački

Samostan), dating from 1461,

and the Church of Our Lady

of Charity (Gospa od Milosti),

with a relief on the façade by

Nikola Firentinac. Inside are

St Francis receiving the

Stigmata and St Diego by

Palma il Giovane, three

polyptychs by Francesco da

Santacroce, Christ on the

Art treasures, a mild climate, good beaches and fields
of scented lavender make this island one of the gems of
the Adriatic. Limestone hills form the central ridge.
Hvar’s story begins in the 4th century BC when Greeks
from Paros founded Pharos and Dimos, present-day
towns of Stari Grad and Hvar. Traces have been left by
the Romans, the Byzantines, the Croatian sovereigns
and the Venetians, who ruled from 1278 until 1797. After
1420, defences were built, and the capital was moved
from Pharos to Hvar. In 1886, under Austria-Hungary, the
Hvar Hygienic Society began to promote the town as a
health resort. Crucially for Croatian literature, Hvar was
the native island of Renaissance poets Hannibal Lucić
and Petar Hektorović, both of whom wrote lyrically
about the people and landscapes of the Adriatic.

Hvar 0

0 km

0 miles

5

5

A peaceful bay on the island of Hvar

Main square of Hvar, with the

Cathedral of St Stephen

Šćedro

Sveti Klement

Jerolim

Pakleni Islands HVAR

Poljica

Stari

Grad

Jelsa

Vrboska

Hvar

Zavala

Split

50 km (31 miles)