The village of Cavtat in Croatia

The little sister of Dubrovnik presents a very pleasant framework and calms. Besides its microclimate supports the presence of a subtropical vegetation.

Very popular under the domination Austro-Hungarian, it preserved an atmosphere of soft idleness, in the shade of immense palm trees which border its quays.

It is today a charming seaside resort, whose architectural harmony was preserved. The hotel complexes for the majority are dissimulated under the pines.

Cavtat is the capital of Konavle.

The Epidaurus colony was re-elected by the Romans Civitas Vetus, the “old city”, which will give the name of Cavtat.

Cavtat is with 18 kilometers in the south-east of Dubrovnik, and to 5 km of the airport.

Cavtat is built on the peninsula of Rat (or peninsula Saint Roch) between two bays: Uvala Luka which separate it from the peninsula of Sustjepan (Saint Stephen), and Uvala Tiha in the North-East; these two very pleasant bays face the island of Supetar (Saint Peter).

The road which skirts the steep coast from Dubrovnik spares superb panoramas on the closed city, but also on the islands, timbered and uninhabited.

One finds in this museum the library and the archives of lawyer, writer and large collector of the 19th century Baltazar Bogišić, which bequeathed its heritage to the town of Cavtat.

From June to October: 9:30 at 13:30.

Addresses: Obala A. Starčeviča 18

Paying entry: 15 kunas.

Visit from June to October: the every day except Sunday, of 10:00 to 13:00 - better is worth to call before the visit.

Paying entry: 10 kunas.

When one climbs of the parish church, the art gallery is a little further, on the line.

The house of the painter became museum (and gallery of exposure), dedicated in memory of the prestigious child of the country; it contains a selection of its tables, in particular of the portraits. This museum is at the same time a workshop and a gallery presenting a large number of works of the artist, in a very sober space, favourable with contemplation.

By restoring the house, one discovered, under the wallpaper, of splendid mural frescos with tons pastel, well far from tables academic loans of realism which decorate such an amount of theaters and museum of Croatia and Europe.

Addresses: House of Vlaho Bukovac, ulica Bukovac 5. By borrowing the quay towards the line, until the lane, ulica Bukovčeva, to turn right.

Visit: the every day except Monday, of 9:00 to 13:00, 16:00 to 20:00, Sunday of 16:00 to 20:00

Paying entry: 20 kunas.

The interior, which has the modern air rather, has two splendid specimens of sacred art:

• the beautiful polyptique one of saint Michel by Vicko Dobričević (1510), where one sees, inter alia details, of deaths wisely expecting their judgment in their tomb (in bottom, in the center).
• a small Virgin with the Child (1494) richly framed.

One of works of the painter Vlaho Bukovac decorates the wall with the high altar of Our-Lady-of-Snows. It painted the sight there that one has, today, since the terrace of the hotel Croatia, the vegetation in less (the locality was extended much at the beginning of the 20th century than it is it now).

To reach the cemetery, to circumvent the monastery of Franciscan by the line and to assemble the hill (10 to 15 min on foot).

The mausoleum is built out of white stones of Brać. This overhung octagonal structure of a dome is a work of art ordered with the famous Dalmatian sculptor Ivan Meštrovič by the rich family, and built of 1920 to 1922.

One remains amazed by the astonishing mixture of the styles, sometimes Greek, sometimes Egyptian, always very pompous…

Paying entry…: 5 kunas.

Founded by the Greeks, Cavtat was called then Epidaure, and, as in the homonymous city of Greece, one venerated there Esculape, god of medicine. Vestiges of the ancient city, amphoras of the time and remainders of Roman ships, always lie at the bottom of water.

The Greek colony Epidaurus was conquered by the Romans into 228 before J. - C. The Roman colony left only the ruins of a theater and some tombs and flagstones engraved.

At the beginning of christianization, Cavtat became the seat of the bishopric.

The arrival of Slavic and Avars at the 7th century caused the decline of the city and the survivors took refuge on a rock small island called Laus close to the coast, to 20 km more in north to found Raguse, future Dubrovnik.

The port and its locality were rebuilt with the Middle Ages in the same style as Dubrovnik, rising little by little with the second rank of the most important cities of the Republic of Raguse.

At the 15th century, the republic of Dubrovnik buys old Epidaure and undertakes to strengthen it. It is the time when the city becomes a vacation resort snuffed by the families patricians of Dubrovnik. Of its past, it preserves an old palace of the Vice-chancellors and some residences patricians of the 15th century.

From May to September: 5 to 8 crossings per day.

Price: 60/70 kunas for a return ticket.

A walk starts from Cavtat towards the heights of Čilipi, in full mountain, until the “konoba” (rustic inn serving as the traditional dishes) Konavoski Komin, where one prepares in particular famous “the meat under bell”, cooked on ashes, in a ground dish. One tastes there also the local orahovac (alcohol of nut) or of the maraskino, containing bitter morello cherries.