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In the heart of Cavtat, immediately next to the remains of the Dubrovnik fortifications and beside the parish church of St. Nicholas, stands the Rector’s Palace of Cavtat. It was originally the residence of a Cavtat captain and served as the military, administrative, and governmental center of Cavtat during the period of the Dubrovnik Republic. Today, it houses the largest personal collection in the region – the Baltazar Bogišić Collection.   Baltazar Bogišić monument Until t

Konavle is an agricultural region. In the past, when people lived only by their own resources, they had to live in accordance with natural cycles. They tracked the weather and followed the annual rhythm in order to be as successful as possible in producing their goods. Natural cycles determined economic activities, which in turn affected the rhythm of social events throughout the year. Festivals became the markers between the different agricultural activities. Thus, the seaso

Review of: The Parish of Konavle before the Establishment of the Dubrovnik Republic Administration Croatian title: Župa Konavle prije uspostave dubrovačke uprave   See the bottom of this article for an explanation of surname evolution.   Since Konavle was under the rule of Dubrovnik from the beginning of the 15th century, we have been able to follow the historical events and social dynamics of the area thanks to the Dubrovnik Archives. Documents on legal and other types of ev

170 years ago, on July 4, 1855, the great Croatian painter Vlaho Bukovac was born in Cavtat. He is most significant for the Croatian cultural scene as the founder of Croatian Modernism. He enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris in 1887 and graduated in the class of Professor Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889). As a Parisian student, he became famous by  participating in the Paris Salon* , thus gaining European fame very early on. He was most popular as a portraitist, and ki

Easter is the most important Christian holiday. The date varies each year and depends on the movement of the moon in the period after March 21. Lent is a forty-day preparation for Easter and begins on Ash Wednesday, which can fall anywhere between February 4 and March 10. During this period, the Church oversees renunciations, various services, spiritual renewal, and expressions of fasting and almsgiving. The custom of Lent as a time of penance and renunciation was established

The celebration of St. Blaise (Sv. Vlaho) has been held continuously every year since 972. According to legend, that year the saint, with a “heavenly army”, protected Dubrovnik from the Venetians, who stopped outside the port of Dubrovnik under the pretext of needing provisions to extend their journey East. That night St. Blaise and his army appeared in a vision to the priest Stojko, and warned him that the Venetians would soon invade the city. Stojko notified the Councilors

The winter period in Konavle is full of celebrations and joy, and among them Christmas is the crown of all events. In autumn, as the agricultural activities end, days dedicated to different saints are more and more frequent. Most of those days are celebrated as Krsno ime of Konavle families. Most weddings and engagements take place around Christmas. No wonder, because pre-industrial agriculture engaged the family members in the fields every day, so there was no time for celeb

In the entire Mediterranean area, including the Balkans and beyond, there were always ways in which women styled their hair and covered it. In traditional societies, a woman's headwear carried a lot of personal information. It marked her origins as well as her social status and personal wealth. In urban areas the headdress was influenced by the fashions of the time, and in rural areas it also indicated a woman’s geographical area — where she lived.   The types and styles of w

Earrings are one of the most popular and oldest forms of jewelry in the world. They were mostly worn by women, though men occasionally wore them too. Reasons for wearing them varied. In ancient Egypt they were worn as status symbols; in Rome women wore them for good luck. They were worn by women in ancient Greece and Byzantium both for decoration and status symbols. Avars and Slavic women wore them, and most other women throughout history.   In the Middle Ages, when the luxur

In the heart of Konavle, in the village Mihanići, the artist Mijo Šiša Konavljanin was born in 1946. He became a visual chronicler of everyday life in Konavle.   In the time of Mijo’s youth, days in Konavle were counted by the agricultural calendar. Everyone worked the land, and food was produced in every home. That was how Konavle people made their living. Each season of the year brought different kinds of labor — in the fields, in the house or in the barn. And for hardworki