Korcula: 18 - 22 May 2016

 

Korcula Statute (left) from 1214 ( a year before Magna Carta) covers laws of Korcula city and island. The stone town was built in the 13 th and 14th C by skilled local stone masons. A feature is the arch bridges linking houses and churches above street level. In the 19th and 20th C. shipbuilding was a key industry and Post WW2 many islanders migrated to Australia. Today tourism is the dominant industry with cruise ships and day trippers supplementing holiday makers.

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Korcula has a similar history to other parts of the Dalmatian archipelago. The first known inhabitants of Korcula were Illyrian tribes who occupied a large area of Dalmatia. They lived from farming and fishing. Upon the arrival of the Ancient Greeks, Korcula became a Greek colony. However, they made no attempt to integrate with the Illyrians, who continued both their tribal lifestyle and their separate existence.The Greeks were followed by the Romans as they were around the Mediterranean. The Croats came to the Adriatic coast from the fertile Neretva valley and arrived on the Island of Korcula in the early 9th century. The Venetians arrived in Korcula in the 10th century and they ruled Korcula on and off up to the 14th century. The golden period for Korcula was between the 13th and 15th centuries, when the old town's present form was acquired through the construction of important buildings.

Existing on the fringes of the Venetian territory, Korcula lived with the Ottoman on its doorsteps. The most famous battle was in 1571 when the Ottomans attempted to plunder Korcula. Despite being abandoned by the Venetian garrison the Korculans managed to defend the town and repel the invaders, preserving their livelihood and Korcula itself. By the 15th and 16th C. the decline in the Mediterranean trade led to economic and cultural decline. In the late 18th C. European city states crumbled in front of the Napleonic armies and Venice lost its dominace over the Adriatic with the Peace Treaty of Campoformio in 1797. After the fall of the Venetian state Korcula became part of the Austrian empire, for over a century.

Korcula, along with with other places lay claim to being the birth place of Marco Polo.

His trip to China and his chronical were European milestones.

Four images come together in this photo:

1. the beautiful historic town,

2. the towering heights of the peninsula that runs north from Dubrovnik and made the strait at Korcula of such strategic importance,

3. a P and O cruise liner leaves after a day stop in Korcula. Next stop Dubrovnik,

4. Local boats, once built here and essential for trade and communications, and now for tourist pleasures.