I'm taking you with me to Drvenik, Croatia!
Have you ever been to Drvenik? This small coastal Croatian village with only 500 inhabitants is located in vicinity of a better known Makarska cit. Makarska is an extremely popular touristic destination and as such needs no introduction, but this little village might escape your notice. First mentioned in the 13th century, Drvenik started its life as a settlement under Biokovo mountain. The original village was actually located a pretty distance from the sea. Why you might ask? Because of the pirates. It was common practice in those days. You'll find many villages in the Mediterranean area (Spain, Italy, Portugal and so on) that are located miles from the sea. It is only in the recent centuries that smaller settlements started to be build so near the sea. Back in the day, if you were a coastal village or a city and you didn't have a big ass wall (like Dubrovnik for example) or a mighty army, you were sure to attract pirates. One of my ancestors from island Hvar managed to out...