Island Korčula

Korčula is the island with the most abundant vegetation in the Adriatic, and it is a kind of ecological Eden of the Mediterranean. It is covered by hundreds of sorts of aromatic Mediterranean plants anddense woods, which gave it the name Korkyra Melaina "Black Korčula" in the classical past. One of the most wide-spread forms of vegetation on the island is the holm-oak (Quercus Ilex), the basis of Korčula shipbuilding throughout the ages. The trees of olive and southern friut trees are not only the natural decoration but also a source of economy for the island population. The vineyards of Korčula are famous for its vines: Grk, Pošip, Postup and Dingač. The island of Korčula is 46,8 km long, and its surface covers 276 square km. It is from the mainland, the peninsula of Pelješac, by a channel 1270 meters wide. Outstanding in the group of middle Dalmatian islands in the Adriatic sea, it lies 49 nautical miles northwest of Dubrovnik, 57 nautical miles southeast of Split, 250 nautical miles from Veniece, and 250 nautical miles from Corfu.

Korčula - Town of Marco Polo

The town of Korčula is one of the best preserved medieval towns of the Mediterranean and a traditional tourist and cultural centre of the island of the same name. Medieval walls surround the old town rich with museums, tresausers, Gotic and Reneisence palaces, churches and chapels. Its rich folklore includes songs, dances and tales, but the old knight play Moreska is a real rarity. The town of Korcula is the administrative whole witch includes the town of Korčula itself, Racisce, Zrnovo, Pupnat and Cara, while other communities on the island are: Lumbarda, Smokvica, Blato and Vela Luka; the whole island numbers 22 000 inhabitants.

Korčula history

Korčula is the town in witch the past is alive today.Numerous buildings and monuments, from the "psephism" of Lumbarda, the oldest inscription in stone in this part of Europe, to the Korčula catedral , bear witness to the various civilizations witch have been interlaced on this island: Greek, Roman, Illyrian, Croatian, Venetian. The Korčulans where and have remained seamen, shipbuilders, builders, fishermen, stone-cutters and artists, vine and olive cultivators. The Korčula Statute from 1214 is one of the oldest legal documents in this part of Europe snd it confirms the continuity of civilisation in these areas.

The tradition of Korčula "brotherhoods" and their spectacular processions began in 1301 already and has remained untouched up to the present time.