Dubrovnik - Return to the Pearl of the Adriatic

 

Dubrovnik's Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary

Wednesday, July 6 - Trip Day 7

Our gentle overnight motoring in the Sea Cloud has brought us back to our next port - Dubrovnik.  We awoke already anchored in the harbor right between the old town and the location of our hotel from a few nights ago.

We had an early start to our day, as we would be walking Dubrovnik's medieval walls and it promised to be another scorcher.  Leaving on the tender by 8:30 would hopefully allow us to beat the heat.

Our tenders tied up at Old Port and we entered the old town through the old port gate to meet our Dubrovnik guide, Ivana, in front of the Cathedral.  It was great to have a guided visit of the town, as we had known this was planned and hadn't yet seen most of the sights.

Dubrovnik's Old Port and location of our tender docking

Entering the old town through the port gate, with a view of the cathedral

Rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake, this cathedral is at least the third basilica on this site

Our guide, Ivana, is young and hip and very funny.  She endeared herself to me when we passed an ice cream shop and, in the middle of her historic commentary, she remarked, "Gelato is life!"

The Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary is built on the site of earlier basilica -starting from at least the 7th century.  A great Romanesque cathedral was built in the 12th century with money contributed by England's Richard the Lionhearted, who survived a storm with a landing on Lokrum island returning home for the Third Crusade.  The catastrophic earthquake of 1667 destroyed that cathedral, hence the current one's Baroque architectural style.

We walked north along a wide street named Pred Dvorom, which was flanked by a number of interesting structures - the Rector's Palace, the City Hall and Marin Drzic Theater, the Small Onofrio Fountain, the Sponza Palace and the Bell Tower.  On the left was St. Blaise Church and Orlando's Column.

The Rector's Palace on Pred Dvorom

Late Gothic style, the Rector's Palace was rebuilt after gunpower accidents and earthquakes

The carved capitals of the Rector's Palace gothic arches

At the end of Pred Dvorom street, the Sponza Palace and the Bell Tower

Marin Drzic and his shiny nose smiles on the interesting interview occurring in his shadow

Busy girls gathered at the Small Onofrio's Fountain

The Bell Tower 

The Sponza Palace, which houses the city's historic archives

St. Blaise Church  and the dome of the Cathedral on the left

We were at the east end of the Placa - or Stradun, as it is called by the Croatians.  This large, wide street divides the old town in two.  All the buildings along the Stradun were rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake, so they have a pleasing uniformity of height, design and color.  The street's limestone pavers are polished to a mirrored shine from so many steps taken along its path.

Before we headed west on the Stradun, to the Pila Gate and the place we would begin our city wall walk, we turned into some of the side streets near St. Blaise.  We walked along Od Puca and other streets - not as wide as the Stradun, but shadier in the heat of the morning sun.

Walking in the shade on streets parallel to the Stradun

A map showing the damage to Dubrovnik in 1991 during their Homeland War

It takes many steps to polish this limestone over the centuries

Doesn't this sound like a great idea on such a hot day?  Maybe for lunch?

Art Space

Walking on the Stradun and approaching the Franciscan Monastary and the Pila Gate

Serene plaza with the Onofrio Fountain, Church of Our Savior and the Franciscan Monastery

Filling up water bottles at the (Big) Onofrio Fountain (We did too!)