The hill overlooking the town of Hvar is a magnificent viewpoint. From there, you can look down on the town itself, watch the comings and goings in the harbour, see the Pakleni islands and the sea beyond. On a clear day (which they mostly are), you can see right over to Vis. The benefits of…
In Hvar’s Napoleon Fortress is a seismological station, part of a network covering the Adriatic coast from Rijeka in the north to Dubrovnik in the south. In fact they are all part of a larger international network that is responsible for monitoring earthquakes throughout the entire Mediterranean. Set up in 1973, the HVAR station contributes…
In the Adriatic, you’d think there wasn’t really much extreme weather to talk about, especially if you visited in the high summer. OK, the odd thunderstorm over the mainland in the afternoon, but not out on the islands, surely? Yet you’ll see examples of windroses here and there, with the winds clearly named. There’s one…
Stina wines draw their inspiration from the famous Brač stone. Stina, of course, means stone in the local Dalmatian dialect. Although there’s a history of winemaking on the island that goes back to the ancient Greeks, it’s been somewhat run down over the last century. Stina aka Jako vino has spent the recent few years…
The ancient Greek colonists of Faros were not altogether firmly settled, despite their clear legacy of agriculture on the island. In fact the Stari Grad Plain was constantly under threat from the local Illyrian tribes who really didn’t want them there. High above the town of Jelsa, the Greeks built a big strong watchtower with…
Vrboska’s Ribarski muzej (Fishing Museum, or Fisherman’s Museum) is a tribute to the fishermen of the past, a wonderful collection of artifacts that tells of a way of life that still echoes today.
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…
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…
Go Hvar 
You must be logged in to post a comment.