Starigrad, an ancient city on the island of Hvar (travel post) / Starigrad, drevni grad na otoku Hvaru (putopis)


Literally translated Starigrad means Old Town. The name is indeed appropriate for it is the oldest city in Croatia. In fact, it is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It is protected by UNESCO. The town was ( formally) founded by the ancient Greeks  from the island of Paros  in 384 BC. In the Italian language it is known as Cittàvecchia. he etymology of the island is very interesting and I have written many papers on the subject but for now I'll just say that the original name the Greeks gave to Starigrad was  Faros(Greek: ΦAPOΣ). 

The Greeks were not the first people that had lived there( the neolithic tribes lived there between 3500 and 2500 BC)  but they were the first who had formed a city.  As you know, the culture and cities of the ancient Greeks are quite famous. I'm not sure how familiar with the history of the Adriatic you are, but long story short, the ancient Romans took the city from the Greeks and we (Croats) took it from the Romans when we settled in these areas in the 8th century. During history it was at times under the Italian (often Venetian) rule. In the 16 century it was attacked twice by the Turks and parts of the city were burned in the second attack. Those parts were slowly rebuild in the following centuries and the town has grown very prosperous because of the sea trade.

 As the name would imply, the city does have such an interesting and long history and if you visit you will feel a taste of it for sure. In any Mediterranean country or in any port I always have that feeling of history and I cannot help but imagine what life has been before... I've read historical records that speak of how vibrant, multicultural and multilingual all of these old Mediterranean ports used to be.


A sada na naški;) Starigrad na Hvaru  je najstariji grad u Hrvatskoj, ali i jedan od najstarijih gradova u Europi, tako da je ime posve prigodno. Zaštićen je od strane UNESCO-a. Godina osnutka grada je 384 prije Krista, a osnovali su ga stari Grci koju su doplovili sa otoka Farosa, pa su i ime slično dali ovom gradu. (Etimologija Hvara i svih mjesta na njemu je jako zanimljiva, pisala sam više radova na tu temu, ali o tome neki drugi put. )

Grci naravno nisu prvi ljudi koji su tu živjeli, cijeli otok je poznat po nalazištima praljudi, pa je bilo naselja tu još u davnim vremenima (o kojima se tako malo zna), a zna se da su bila neolitička plemena čak od 3500 do 2500 godina prije Krista. No, Grci su prvi koji su službeno osnovali grad, prije njih su bila naselja. Stari Grci bili su poznati po svojim gradovima i kulturi.  Koliko je tko poznat sa povješću Jadrana nije ni bitno, samo da ukratko kažem da su grad od Grka oteli Rimljani (Rimsko carstvo), a tijekom povijesti bio je često pod talijanskom (Mletačkom) vlašću. U šestanestom stoljeću napali su ga Turci dvaput, a u zadnjem napadu spaljen je dio grada. U naredna dva stoljeća taj se dio ponovo polako izgrađivao i grad  napredovaše zbog trgovine morem. 

Tako, grad ima jako zanimljivu povijest, a u svakom mediteranskom gradu ili mjestu na moru, ja uvijek imam taj neki osjećaj osjećaj povijesti i pitam se kakav im je bio život. Čitala sam povijesne izvore o tome kako su ove luke bile bogate kulturom i jezicima raznih naroda.

Comments

  1. I very like Stari Grad, Adria is very nice. Great weekend.

    http://www.fashiondenis.com

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  2. Ivana I love your travel pics and your travel posts!
    Best Regards
    Miss Margaret Cruzemark
    http://margaretcruzemark.blogspot.com/

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  3. very very nice my dear!!:)
    www.borsadimarypoppins.com

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  4. Città affascinante!

    http://namelessfashionblog.blogspot.it/
    http://www.facebook.com/NamelessFashionBlog

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  5. Did I ever wrote here that I visited Croatia in 1998? This was my first and my last time there but when I look at your great pictures, dear Ivana, I think I should visit this wonderful Croatia again <3

    Wish you a wonderful Sunday!

    xx from Bavaria, Rena

    www.dressedwithsoul.blogspot.de

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  6. Divan post a ti si mi prezgodna :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. uuu ejsu ovo stare slike ili je stvarno tako toplo? super slike i ja hocu na more :( :(

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  8. E tu sam provela par nezaboravnih ljeta, sjetim ga se svako malo :)))

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  9. La Croazia è davvero un Paese meraviglioso! Grazie per aver condiviso foto e storia della Cittàvecchia :D

    http://lowbudget-lowcost.blogspot.it/2013/04/trend-show-your-socks.html

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  10. Sono d'accordo con Nico, ci fai scoprire posti meravigliosi del tuo Paese ed è un po' come essere lì con te! L'abito che indossi è stupendo!!! Caterina www.imieioutfit.blogspot.com

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  11. I have never been to stalingrad but this is a place I'definitely love to see!
    Don't Call Me Fashion Blogger
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  12. I miss even more sunny holiday!!
    You are cruel Ivana!
    All the best

    Best Dressed Poland

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  13. Jao, Hvar, tu sam bila sa 4 godine, ponečeg se i sećam :)

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  14. What a beautiful city!! I'm sure it's worth the visit!! ;-)
    xoxo
    Patricia

    http://misstoptenimage.blogspot.com

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All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

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