With luggage outside our doors at 7, we were on the way at 8 this morning. We spent most of the day on the bus, winding along the picturesque Dalmatian coast. Along the way, we estimate that we saw about 82% of Croatia’s 1000+ islands. This included Korcula, which some researchers suggest may have been the birthplace of Marco Polo. While most people believe that the inventor of the famous swimming pool game was born in medieval Venice, the street on Korcula where he may have been born corresponds with an area that belonged to the Polo family. And since the Dalmatian coast was often under the influence of the Venetian Republic, one could argue that, either way, he was still a Venetian citizen.
The Adriatic Sea is really a big bay between the Balkans and Italy. It’s only 80 miles across. Ships have been crossing the Adriatic for millennia. For hundreds of years, these ships were powered by rowers - usually slaves -and sailed only during the day. As the Italian side has no islands, the ships often hugged the Dalmatian Coast, which had many bays and islands near which to anchor at night.
Before the time of Christ, Illyrian tribes populated the coast. While primarily shepherds, they had a favorite hobby: piracy and kidnapping for ransom. One of their captives was a young Julius Caesar, who made good on his threat to return and punish them all once he was ransomed. The Romans broke the piracy ring and established settlements up and down the Dalmatian coast. A group of Illyrian tribes called the Damatae has left only their name for posterity.
Centuries ago, Bosnia and Hercegovina acquired 12 miles of coastline from the Ottoman Empire, granting its only access to a deep water harbor. Its location cut the Croatian coastline nearly in half, and required people driving from Dubrovnik to Split to cross borders in and out of BNH. This was scheduled to become even more stringent and complicated when Croatia joined the EU Schengen Area this year. The solution was an EU-funded and Chinese-built bridge spanning the inlet into BNH. The 1.5 mile Peljesac Bridge is high enough to allow shipping vessels and cruise ships to pass below. It opened last year to great fanfare.
After about 3.5 hours, we reached the little town of Omis on the Cetina River. Rain was threatening, so we had an extremely short walking tour to a church before reversing course back to the river.
We climbed onto a little orange boat and slowly cruised upriver. Ramshackle fishing shacks dotted the shore, each equipped with a chair.
A bridge under construction is another project to cut miles off the coastal drive. A high waterfall tumbles in the distance.
The remains of two forts stood on the shore. During the piracy era, the pirates built an underwater wall their shallow boats could easily slip over. The Venetian ships giving chase would tear open their hulls on the wall. There are probably interesting things to be found in the river silt.
It was a slow, beautiful, noisy, inelegant ride. The rain held until we entered the riverfront restaurant (excellent bean soup and whole pan-seared trout) and stopped before we finished.
Another hour took us to the Meštrović Gallery, which is in his former home. There are two large wings which held private rooms for his family (two wives and his children) and a public space in the middle.
Ivan Meštrović was a world-renowned sculptor, and Croatia’s leading 20th century sculptor. He was a student of Rodin, and studied and exhibited in many art centers of Europe. After World Way II, he emigrated to the United States where he worked and taught at Syracuse University and the University of Notre Dame. He died in South Bend, where there is a museum containing many of his works.
Finally we arrived at our hotel, which was changed from our previously-scheduled one in Split. We are in Solin (or Salona), which was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian - whose palace we will visit tomorrow. There are some archeological sites nearby, as well as the Klis Fortress, but they are not within walking distance of our hotel. But this is a nice setting, birds are singing, and Greg is out caching and scoping places for light dinner.
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