To the origins
The Dubrovnik region boasts some interesting Roman remains. In Polače, traces of one of the earliest villages in the area are still visible, including the remains of a huge palace, flanked by thermal baths and other large villas. In Ston and Mali Ston, sections of Roman fortifications are still visible, as are traces of a well-thought-out town-planning system based on geometric divisions along the two main axes of Cardo and Decumanus. Remains of large agricultural villas, the villae rusticae, have also been found. Monumentalism and pragmatism characterize this Roman architecture. In Polače, ruins of early Christian basilicas have been found, while St Michael's Church in Ston represents a fine example of the transition between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Built on the site of an ancient Roman castellum, the church possesses the power and sobriety of a nascent Romanesque art, as can be seen in its small rectangular apse leading to a single barrel-vaulted nave separated into three bays by doubleaux, arches perpendicular to the axis of the vault and resting against the inner face of the walls. New formal research was also accompanied by stylistic research, as evidenced by the superb frescoes. The Romanesque chapel of Lastovo, with its lauze roof, and the chapel of St. Luke, also on the island of Lastovo, share the same Romanesque sobriety, with stonework inspired by local traditions. The same craftsmanship can be found in the stone houses with their lauze roofs and the small chapels in the hamlets of Konavle.
Medieval treasures
Dubrovnik's current fortifications date mainly from the 13th and 14th centuries, and reveal the ingenuity of a powerful defensive architecture. On the seaward side, Fort Saint-Jean is linked to the Saint-Luc tower. Offshore, a powerful breakwater serves both to protect the town from the sea and to slow the advance of potential enemies. A complex system protecting the port's arcaded quays and arsenals. On the landward side, an area subject to even greater threats, the walls can be up to 6 m thick, while on the outer side, a slightly sloping wall has been added to protect against cannon attacks. A defensive moat and the mighty Minčeta fortress, originally square but gradually rounded and raised, with its top adorned with battlements and machicolations, reinforce the layout. Other rectangular or rounded towers, powerful bastions - such as Mrtvo Zvono and Fort Lovrijenac, with walls up to 12 m thick - and 2 gates were accessed via imposing drawbridges. These fortifications are all the more impressive for their perfect fit with the site's rugged topography. This art of adaptation can be seen in the flights of stairs leading up to the ramparts, as well as in the narrow streets and vaulted passageways of the old town, typical of medieval urban planning.
While most towns in the region relied on rainwater, Dubrovnik's water supply came from a spring some ten kilometers away, fed by a partly underground aqueduct. It was this aqueduct that fed the city's beautiful fountains, such as the large Onofrio fountain with its elegant dome. The fountain bears the name of its architect, to whom we also owe the beautiful Gothic floor of the Rector's Palace. This medieval period was also one of great religious effervescence. Cross-shaped floor plans, rose-shaped paving, stone domes, redans and blind arcatures are all typical Romanesque motifs, expressed in all their sober power in the Benedictine monastery on the island of Mljet.
Dubrovnik's monasteries, on the other hand, make an elegant transition from Romanesque to Gothic. The cloister of the Franciscan monastery is a late-Romanesque masterpiece, with its arcades supported by elegant twin columns with carved capitals. The Dominican monastery, on the other hand, is reminiscent of medieval fortresses... so it's easy to understand why it was partly incorporated into the ramparts. While the apse of the church is Romanesque, the cloister's arcades, with their three-lobed bays, are resolutely Gothic. Korčula and Ston-Mali Ston are two medieval treasures not to be missed. Both bear witness to urban planning that became a tool of power. Built by the Venetians, Korčula dominates the Adriatic from the top of its rocky spur. Its walls bear witness to the evolution of defensive architecture, from high Gothic ramparts to stockier bastions. Dozens of round and square towers punctuate a walkway that surrounds the entire city. Korčula is also a magnificent example of the symbiosis between architecture and nature. The many staircases compensate for the rugged topography, while the curved streets are designed to keep the wind out. If you look at the city from above, you'll notice that its plan is shaped like... a fish. Its longest street is the backbone of the city, with dozens of smaller streets running through it, all joining up at the ends with the "chemin de ronde". In the heart of the city, don't miss the cathedral, whose carved motifs are typical of the flowery Gothic style and are the work of Marko Andrijić, one of the city's finest stonemasons. The great Ston-Mali Ston complex was designed by the Republic of Dubrovnik to demonstrate its power. The originality of this defensive system lies in the pentagonal shape of the ramparts encompassing the urban centers, themselves designed according to a checkerboard plan offering a clear reading of the space between residential blocks and large patrician houses. The organization of the city reflected the organization of society.
From the Renaissance to the Baroque
In Dubrovnik, Renaissance is still tinged with Gothic, as evidenced by the Rector's Palace. Its beautiful atrium and the historiated capitals of its portico are resolutely Renaissance, but its second floor retains the hallmarks of Gothic flowerwork. The finest example of this blend of styles is the Palazzo Sponza, whose ribbed arcatures and central loggia with Gothic tri-lobed arches, as well as its beautiful arcaded galleries and Renaissance pediments and cornices, are to be admired. The summer residences of Dubrovnik's wealthy merchants and noblemen were the great exponents of Renaissance humanist ideals. Although these villas all have their own identity, they share common features: modest size, L-shaped floor plan, a blend of Gothic and Renaissance forms and, above all, a fully enclosed garden. Porticoes, loggias and terraces merge interior and exterior, while beautiful pergolas shelter the perpendicular paths lined with a variety of species. The Trsteno Arboretum is a superb example of this landscape architecture. See its Neptune fountain, grottoes and statues, and above all its aqueduct, a stunning replica of the Roman aqueducts. The earthquake of 1667 almost completely destroyed Dubrovnik. But proud Ragusa was not tamed by the earth's wrath, and was reborn under the gold and theatricality of the Baroque period. Architects and town planners agreed on a checkerboard layout, defining the width and length of streets and the height of houses to the nearest centimeter. This uniformity was reinforced by the mandatory use of white Dalmatian stone. Gothic and Renaissance facades were replaced by resolutely Baroque brackets and balconies. The finest example of this urban and architectural renewal is the Stradun ("main street" in Venetian), a wide, white-paved thoroughfare lined with galleries and boutiques and dubbed by many as "Dubrovnik's Champs-Élysées"!
In the religious sphere, it was the Jesuits, great architects of the Counter-Reformation, who contributed to the spread of Baroque. Designed by architect Andrea Pozzo on the model of the Gesù church in Rome, theJesuit church of St. Ignatius in Dubrovnik is one of the most beautiful Baroque complexes in the region. Twisted and rounded forms, stylized pediments and elegant domes decorate its exterior silhouette, while moldings, frescoes and gilding flood the interior. And don't miss the superb staircase designed by Pietro Passalacqua linking the Jesuit college to the rest of the city. The Church of St. Blaise and the Church of the Assumption, with their stylized domes and profusion of ornamentation, also bear the hallmarks of this prolific Baroque style.
Since the 19th century
The French and Austrians coveted the Dubrovnik region, as evidenced by the Napoleonic fortress on the island of Lastovo and the summer residence built by Maximilian of Habsburg on the island of Lokrum. With its beautiful botanical garden, this villa is very neo-Renaissance. The neo-Renaissance wave is very light in Dubrovnik. Some facades are adorned with harmonious neoclassical pediments and cornices, while the Municipal Theatre is neo-Gothic. At the turn of the twentieth century, some large villas were adorned with stylized plant motifs and ironwork inspired by the ideals of Art Nouveau. This period also saw the gradual transformation of small ports into popular seaside resorts, such as Vela Luka on the island of Korčula. It was on this island that Drago Ibler, the great master of Croatian functionalist modernism, designed villas with pure geometric lines. Terribly damaged by the Croatian war of the 1990s, Dubrovnik is now the subject of a major restoration program coordinated by Unesco. Thanks to these relentless efforts, the city's historic heart has now been listed. This classification has been accompanied by an unprecedented influx of tourists, leading to the construction of marinas and other large hotel complexes on the city's outskirts... all of which have recently threatened the city's very Unesco classification. Fortunately, a number of architects have opted for sober, contemporary architecture, such as the renowned Zagreb-based 3LHD agency, whose V2 House features minimalist lines and breathtaking sea views, the renovation of the legendary Hotel Le Belvédère, the House U in white local stone, and the One Suit Hotel in Mlini, with its clean, sober lines and a facade that's recognizable by its shiny silvery appearance created by plaster mixed with glass granulate. Astonishing!
Getaways in Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina
From Dubrovnik, it's easy to reach some of Montenegro's most beautiful sites. Risan, with the remains of the Greco-Lillyrian acropolis on the Gradina hill, and those of the Roman forum and fortifications, not forgetting the sumptuous mosaics of the patrician villas, made from a meticulous assembly of small cubes or tesserae depicting geometric or floral motifs. Then there's Kotor, the country's listed medieval jewel. See its spectacular system of ramparts, almost 4 km long. Closed by three massive gates, these walls were up to 15 m thick and 20 m high. Entirely surrounded by ramparts, the city unfolds in a typically medieval tangle of alleyways, lanes and cobbled squares. While it still boasts a number of Romanesque and Gothic buildings, such as the churches of Sainte-Anne and Sainte-Marie, Kotor also bears the stamp of Venetian Baroque. The Serenissima had the city rebuilt after the earthquake of 1667. The square, the clock tower and the palaces organized around large inner courtyards, with facades punctuated by balconies and scrolled brackets, are typically Venetian. The powerful Republic also imposed its maritime defense system, known as the Stato da Mar, whose bastioned fortifications were designed to protect Adriatic ports and shipping lanes. Another Montenegrin gem not to be missed is Perast, which enjoyed its golden age in the 17th and 18th centuries. 200 palaces, 100 mansions and 14 churches displayed their symmetrical lines and rich ornamentation. Embossed facades, three-lobed Palladian windows, loggias, beautifully curved balustrades, stylized gables... each building contributes to transforming the city into a veritable décor. Don't miss the Bujović Palace with its arcades and terrace encircled by a balustrade adorned with the lion of St. Mark, Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire with its impressive octagonal bell tower, or the Church of St. Nicholas and its 55 m-high bell tower!
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, you can follow in the footsteps of the Ottoman Empire. A Unesco World Heritage site, the old town of Mostar is a real treasure trove, starting with the Stari Most, or Old Bridge, which gave its name to the town and was designed by the architect Hajruddin according to the plans and precepts of his famous master Mimar Sinan. It's impossible to miss its unique arch, spanning over 28 m, and the quadrangular towers that protect it. Sloping streets paved with round pebbles, traditional stalls protected by stone canopies, fountains, baths and hammams, mosques... all these elements plunge visitors into an oriental Middle Ages. And let's not forget the beautiful Ottoman houses, recognizable by their mix of stone and wood, their closed balconies, their interior courtyards and the organization of the house around the only public room: the diwan. The fortress-village of Pocitelj is also home to some very fine oriental treasures. See the Hadj Halija mosque, a superb example of classical Ottoman style with a single room topped by a dome. The mosque was also linked to hammams, imarets (communal kitchens), inns, caravanserais and medersas to form a large urban and spiritual complex. Organized around a large inner courtyard and distinguished by its six domes (five small ones for the classrooms and one large one for the reading room), the Pocitelj medersa is a must-see. With its mix of Eastern and Mediterranean influences, the fortress-village also boasts some very fine houses. Dubrovnik is a gateway to unique cultures!
