Korčula (town)

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Korčula
Old Town
Old Town
Korčula is located in Croatia
Korčula
Korčula
The location of Korčula within Croatia
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Croatia
County Dubrovnik-Neretva County
Island Korčula
Government
 • Mayor Vinko Kapelina (HDZ)
Population (2011)[1]
 • City 5,663
 • Urban 2,856
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 20260
Area code(s) +385 20
Vehicle registration DU
Website korcula.hr

Korčula (Italian: Curzola ) is a historic fortified town on the protected east coast of the island of Korčula, in Croatia, in the Adriatic.

File:Korcula, Old Town seen from the north.jpg
Korčula, old town

Population

The City of Korčula has a total population of 5,634, in the following individual settlements:[1]

  • Čara (Chiara), population 616
  • Korčula (Curzola), population 2,856
  • Pupnat (Pupnata), population 391
  • Račišće, population 432
  • Žrnovo (Zernova), population 1,368

Construction

The old city is surrounded by walls, and the streets are arranged in a herringbone pattern allowing free circulation of air but protecting against strong winds.[2] Korčula is tightly built on a promontory that guards the narrow sound between the island and the mainland. Building outside the walls was forbidden until the 18th century, and the wooden drawbridge was only replaced in 1863. All of Korčula's narrow streets are stepped with the notable exception of the street running alongside the southeastern wall. The street is called the Street of Thoughts as one did not have to worry about the steps.

Historic sites

The town's historic sites include the central Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral of St Mark (built from 1301 to 1806), the 15th-century Franciscan monastery with a beautiful Venetian Gothic cloister, the civic council chambers, the palace of the former Venetian governors, grand 15th- and 16th-century palaces of the local merchant nobles, and the massive city fortifications.

Cursola, as it was called in Latin, became an episcopal see in the early 14th century, when the bishop of Ston (Stagnum in Latin) asked to be authorized to transfer his seat there because of Serb pressure on Ston. This was granted and he was made bishop also of a new diocese of Cursola united with his previous one. In 1541, the Ragusans asked for the separation of ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Ston, which they had conquered, from Cursola, which in the previous century had become a Venetian possession. In 1828, when both the Korčula and Ragusa (Dubrovnik) belonged to the Austrian Empire, the territory of the diocese of Cursola was made part of that of Dubrovnik.[3][4][5] No longer a residential bishopric, Cursola is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[6]

Culture

The devout Catholic inhabitants of Korčula keep alive old folk church ceremonies and a weapon dance, the Moreška, which dates back to the middle ages.[7] Originally danced only on special occasions, in modern times there are performances twice a week for tourists.[8]

The city's Town Statute [9] dating back to 1214 prohibited slavery.[10][11]

Korčula, like other islands and many coastal cities in Dalmatia, displays a Croatian culture which developed from the late Roman era to the emergence of the modern Croatian state. Until the late 19th century, people identifying as Italians formed part of the population of Korčula town while the rest of the island was almost completely inhabited by people identifying as Croatians. However, historically the distinction was often ambiguous and local identity (eg di Curzola, Dalmata) usually took precedence over these fixed categories. The island therefore possesses a distinct Mediterranean cultural personality which sets it apart from the mountainous hinterland and continental Croatia further north. The town is esteemed for being the possible birth town of the famous Venetian merchant, Marco Polo, who was born around 1254. This is based on written evidence that Marco's family originated in Dalmatia and then settled in Venice, and that the Depolo surname, which has existed in Korčula at least from the 13th century, is linked to his family.

Gallery

  • Korcula, main square, cathedral St. Mark, Venetian governor's palace.jpg

    Main square, St. Mark's Cathedral, governor's palace

  • Korcula gate.jpg

    City gate

  • Korcula from Peljesac.jpg

    View from Peljesac

  • Birthplace of Marco Polo, Korcula, Croatia.JPG

    Marco Polo's alleged birthplace

  • City of Korčula-ferry.JPG

    View from a ferry

  • City of Korčula-harbour walls.JPG

    Harbor walls

  • St. Nikola Church

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Architecture Korčula-www.korculainfo.com
  3. ↑ Curzola, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XIII, Paris 1956, coll. 1116-1117
  4. ↑ Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1, pp. 462-463; vol. 2, p. 241; vol. 3, p. 183; vol. 4, p. 170; vol. 5, p. 178; vol. 6, pp. 189-190
  5. ↑ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 405
  6. ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 878
  7. ↑ The Early Korčula Moreska Journal article by Max Harris, Lada Cale Feldman; Comparative Drama, Vol. 37, 2003
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Korčula Statute-www.korculainfo.com
  10. ↑ Footprint Croatia-Page 289 Jane Foster
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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