Hvar, Croatia has a Venetian Look and the World's Sweetest Air

Conquered Often, Hvar Supplied Venice for Centuries

Hvar is a long island -- 43 miles long with a total of 112 square miles -- that is more or less perpendicular to the Balkan peninsula. A part of Croatia now, it was inhabited going back to Neolithic times. The town of Hvar, then called Pharos (meaning lighthouse), was founded by Greeks from Paros in 385 BCE. It became part of the Roman province of Dalmatia (its name simplified to Fara), was occupied by the surge of Slavs into the Balkans of the 7th and 8th centuries AD. It was conquered at least twice by Byzantines and ruled by the Republic of Venice from 1420 to 1797. The Hapsburgs ruled it until 1918, when the Italian army occupied it. Since then, it has twice been a part of Yugoslavia (the union of Southern Slavs). It is a part of what is now the Republic of Croatia that was not bombed during the war of independence (or secession in the view of Serbians).

Grapes for wine, rosemary, lavender, and olives were all cultivated for the Venetian market. Ship-building was and remains the major heavy industry of the city (one with a population of only a few more than 4000 people), though the tourist "industry" probably employs more people. Hvar is a port of call on most cruises of the Dalmatian coast.

Hvar is fabled for its clear air, with 2700 hours of sunshine annually, though my experience was of drizzle.

A 1529 public well is at the center of the main plaza (pjaca). The Baroque-overlaid Renaissance church of St. Stephen is at the eastern end. The nave looks like Mexican churches to me, presumably because the Hapsburgs ruled both Hvar and Mexico. The bell tower, however, is intricately Venetian, particularly the intricate lattice work of its top level. To the left of the main altar is a sarcophagus with the early martyr Saint Prospero

On the north side is the Civic Loggia, which was rebuilt, also in Venetian style, late in the 16th century. It is now the Palace Hotel. On the south side is the Fontiko, a warehouse for salt and grain, and the arsenal.