The tiny settlement of Vrboska is best known for two things – the upper harbour which looks just like a miniature canal complete with 16th century stone houses, and the somewhat unusual fortified church of Sveta Marija – or St Mary of Mercy in English. I say somewhat unusual, as there are a couple of…
I love the music of Dalmatia. Here’s another song I often find myself humming – a lovely lyrical description of fishermen setting out in their boats before dawn, accompanied by bickering seagulls, while everyone else sleeps. This is the wonderful Ribari (Fishermen) by Vinko Coce, with some beautifully evocative scenes of the Adriatic in this…
We came across the Bistro Eremitaž (that’s Hermitage with a Croatian accent!) when we went sketching at a little beach out on the north shore of Stari Grad. We read the menu, looked at the inviting shady terrace overlooking the water and thought – we must come back and eat here sometime. Two years later,…
You might think that Humac is a deserted village, but appearances are misleading. This is a seasonal village, where people from Vrisnik could be close to additional fields and grazing. Most of the houses now look fairly run-down, if not actually derelict, but here and there you can see signs of recent activity. And, of…
I was inspired by my visit to the Dvor Duboković to have a go at making my own rose liqueur. Their Rožolin was rather wonderful, and although we had bought a bottle to enjoy later, it was all too small. The process, as they told it, seemed simple enough, and I have some lovely fragrant…
One of the most memorable dinners I’ve had on the island of Hvar (and there have been quite a few) was at the Konoba Dvor Duboković in Pitve. That’s lower Pitve, not upper Pitve, though it’s quite high enough to have glorious views. Pitve was the site of an ancient settlement, believed to be the…
After finding our way to all the other sites on the Archaeological Paths map provided by the Stari Grad tourist board, we thought it would be a doddle to visit Hum – Sveti Vid. Who needs signposts, anyway? You can see the hill perfectly well, it’s just a matter of working out which path takes…
Tucked away in a little backstreet of Hvar town is a lovely walled garden. Back in 1530, it was built as the summer residence of Hannibal Lucić, spent a good few years derelict and is now coming back to life as the Hvar Heritage Museum. Hanibal Lucić was a lawyer, in charge of local works…
Following my previous blog on Hvar’s drystone walls, I’m moving backwards in time beyond the Greek colonists to the Illyrians, who lived here before them. Between 2,000 and 1,000 B.C. the population began to settle on hilltops. Their huts were defended by ditches and stone ramparts some of which were massive. One of these hilltop…
Hvar in spring is just a complete flower-lover’s delight. Other kinds of lovers would be delighted by it too, but we’ll leave that for a different post. On a recent walk to an ancient Illyrian hilltop site, I could not resist the charm of so many different kinds of flowers. I took some pictures, but there…
Go Hvar 
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