Hvar

Plenty of sunshine (indeed, the largest amount of annual sunshine) is just a small feature of its attractive mosaic. You will get a more complete picture of the island and its value if you visit its largest town. In Hvar town is the largest square in Dalmatia along with the Cathedral of St Stephen. The square is named after the same saint as the cathedral, though the people of Hvar call it ‘Pjaca’.

The lace, originally from Tenerife, has been present here since the mid-19th century and it is now protected by inclusion on UNESCO’s list of Intangible World Heritage. Another intangible cultural property from here that is on the same list is the procession Za križen, a ritual that involves six towns on the island: Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik, Svirče, Vrbanj, and Vrboska. During the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the cross bearer is accompanied by believers and pilgrims, and makes the eight-hour journey of over 25 kilometres with a cross weighing 18 kilograms. In 2008, the World Heritage List accepted the inclusion of the Stari Grad Plain based on several criteria, among them as being an example of a very old traditional landscape and as an agricultural region that has continued cultivating the same crops for thousands of years.

 

You can taste the fruits of this area in such local specialities as lavender-flavoured desserts and highly-esteemed wines. One of the oldest delicacies is starogrojski paprenjok, a delicacy mentioned in Peter Hektorović’s main work ‘Fishing and Fishermen’s Talk’. The Renaissance home of this writer, Tvrdalj Castle, is the most famous monument in Stari Grad itself.