Cultural heritage

Stari Grad has a long history. There was a village here even as far back as prehistoric times, however the first documented traces were found in 384 B.C. when settlers from the Greek island of Paros founded the polis or city-state of Faros.
Stari Grad’s most famous ancient habitant is general Demetrius, a short-term governor of the Illyrian state and an associate of powerful Hannibal from Kartaga.
After Demetrius’ failure in 219 B.C., the town became dependent on Rome and remained so until late antiquity.
There are numerous monuments that are evidence of the town’s turbulent history which can be seen in numerous points during a walk through the old city centre as well as in the museums. Medieval history starts with the arrival of the Slavs – Croats during the 6th and 7th centuries with the town inheriting an ancient tradition.

It was the seat of the Medieval diocese of Hvar which later became Novi Grad back in 1278 when the diocese and its administration was transferred, whilst the old Hvar (Faros, Pharia) took the name Stari Grad, which is still carries today.

During the Renaissance period, it was the country seat of Hvar’s nobles and one of them - Petar Hektorović, poet and architect mentioned it a great deal. The baroque 17th and 18th centuries was when most of the town’s churches and residences were built, whilst in the 19th century, when Stari Grad was a port with a large fleet of its own sailboats, the town’s coastal front was established.

In the 20th century, which was marked by wars and emigration, the town began to focus on the tourism we can still see today, alongside viticulture and olive growing which are the main economic sectors.
These 24 centuries of written history have left visible traces in the urban part of Stari Grad so a walk through the town and surrounding areas represents a unique contact with history.

Of the numerous small squares in Stari Grad, the most picturesque is Škor. Almost like a theatre coulisse (which it is during the summer cultural events), this square was formed later, during the 17th /18th centuries from a stretch of shallow water, where there was once a shipyard, which was covered and the square took its name from this (škor from škver, in the Dalmatian dialect, means shipyard). Working-class houses with picturesque luminari (roof windows) as well as sulari and skalinade (stone terraces with staircase) which are typical in Dalmatia close the curved space where the mythical Dalmatia lives.

Trg sv. Stjepana (St. Stephen’s Square) in front of the parish church of the same name, which was the first cathedral in Hvar, is the most important public space in the Stari Grad. In the past, sentences were passed here and agreements were made, whilst today, now the daily rhythms of its inhabitants and guests have moved to Riva, it has become an oasis of silence and contemplation.
St. Stephen’s church is a baroque building whose construction started in 1605, after the old cathedral and bishop’s court had been blown down. The main gateway and probably the façade too were built by the famous Korčula's master, Ivan Pomenić, who was also the builder of the current cathedral in Hvar. Local masters built the church whilst Venetian artists decorated its interior with altars and altar paintings.
The Church tower dates back to 1753 and its base and ground floor are built of large stone blocks which were taken from the ancient city walls as is mentioned in the inscription over the church tower doorway. On the first church tower block is a stone relief of a Roman nave from the 2nd century which was built into the wall whilst the other ancient monument, the winged Erot, from the same period can be found in the southern part of the square. The winged Erot is part of a Roman tomb-stone and holds a bunch of grapes and an upside-down torch in its hands, whilst under it are birds from the afterlife.

The early Christian church of St. Ivan from the 5th and 6th centuries, which has figurative mosaics, experienced numerous changes during early medieval times whilst only the base has been preserved of her twin – the church of St. Marija (st. Mary), in the south. Around the church are the remains of Faros’ city walls as well as houses and streets from the ancient town dating back to the 4th century B.C.
The eastern city gate was also here which, in days gone by but also today, led to a large, fertile field – the ancient Ager.

The Church of St. Lucija is a remnant of a former women’s Dominican monastery, which was burnt by the Turks in 1571. Over the main doorway is a stone sculpture of Christ dating back to the 15th century. During this holy woman’s festival on December 13th, there is custom of lighting a large bonfire in front of the church and offering gifts hidden in a sock to children.

The Church of the fraternity of Stari Grad's sailors and fishermen, the church of St. Nikola (from the 14thC, and enlarged at the end of 15thC) preserves votive pictures and memories from of shipwreck survivors. Every year to celebrate the festival of St. Nikola, on December 6th, an old ship is sacrificed in a fire in front of the church, as a sign of the people’s belief in this saint’s mercy, as the protector of sailors. An extraordinary work of art in this church is its gilded wooden altar dating back to 1612, and carried out by a Venetian woodworker, Antonio Porri.
At the southern part of the church, a small, stone house was built as an annex where, in the 16thC Lukrica, from the island of Brač was enwalled alive and spent 30 years there.

In the immediate vicinity of Hektorović's Tvrdalj, is the St. Rok church – the patron saint of Stari Grad (there is a big procession and festival in his honour on August, 16th). The church dates back to the 16th C. During the baroque period (in 1783), a bell tower shaped like horse tail was added whilst in the 20th C., stairs were built. During that time, the Roman Thermae mosaic pavement was discovered, and is mentioned in the engraved inscription. Opposite the church is an entrance in the Tvrdalj part, which in Hektorović’s times was dedicated to paupers and travellers.

Petar Hektorović’s Tvrdalj (1487 – 1572) with a fish-pond and a dove-cot over it, is the most famous building in Stari Grad. This renaissance poet built it throughout his entire life and it had the same importance for him as his literary work. There he realized the idea of microcosms – a small, enclosed world where all divine creatures – fish, birds, herbs and people (himself, his friends, a holy woman, paupers and travellers) had a space to live. The Tvrdalj is also a stone book – Hektorović carved more than twenty stone inscriptions in both Latin and Italian (one, which is in Italian – is his own life motto: “Fede e realtà o quanto è bella!” - Oh how lovely faith and reality are) as well as inscriptions in the Croatian language.

Walking through the labyrinth of streets and lanes of the old town centre is a continual unveiling of Stari Grad’s petrified history. The middle street or in Stari Grad’s dialect the Srinjo kola is the jugular vein of the town – the former commercial centre. Romantic courtyards are hidden behind the high walls and on the ground floors of houses, roman mosaics can be seen, it is possible to see one of these in the Moria Gallery. The House with a stone courtyard which once belonged to the poet, Hanibal Lucić is hidden within an area known as Biskupija. In the medieval area of Šiberija (which got its name from Siberia, because of the coldness during winter brought on by the cold easterly winds) a small square with a sculpture known as Ranjena (1921) by the Stari Grad sculptor Juraj Škarpa is hidden.

And finally, the recently renovated Vorba park (the name Vorba, Varba or Vrba comes from the water spring to be found in the eastern part of the park itself, that was mentioned for the first time back in 1331 while today it is bordered by a stone crown dating back to 1892) surrounded by canals and connected by bridges is a serene oasis of shade at the end of the old port.