Lastovo
Encyclopedia
Lastovo is an island municipality
in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County
in Croatia
. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 people, of which 93% are ethnic Croats
, and a land area of approximately 53 km² (20.5 sq mi). The biggest island in the municipality is also named Lastovo, as is the largest town. The majority of the population lives on the 46 km2 island of Lastovo.
Lastovo, like the rest of Roman
province of Dalmatia
, was settled by Illyrians
. The Romans conquered and settled the entire area, retaining control until the Avar
invasions and Slavic migrations
in the 7th century. The Croats and other Slavic tribes subjugated by the Croats secured most of the Dalmatian seaboard. Sometime around the year 1000 the Venetians
attacked and destroyed the settlement, due to the island's participation in piracy along the Adriatic
coast. In the 13th century, Lastovo joined the Dubrovnik Republic
where for several centuries it enjoyed a certain level of autonomy until the republic's conquest by the French, under Napoleon
. Austria
then ruled the island for the next century, then Italy and Yugoslavia until it finally became a part of the independent Republic of Croatia.
The island is noted for its 15th- and 16th-century architecture. There is a large number of churches of relatively small size, a testament to the island's long-standing Roman Catholic
tradition. The major cultural event is the Poklade
, or carnival. The island largely relies on its natural beauty and preservation to attract tourists each season. In 2006 the Croatian Government made the island and its archipelago a nature park.
, the island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the Adriatic Sea
. Other islands in this group include Vis
, Brač
, Hvar
, Korčula and Mljet
. The dimensions of the island are approximately 9.8 km (6.1 mi) long by up to 5.8 km (3.6 mi) wide.
The Lastovo archipelago contains a total of 46 islands, including the larger islands Sušac
, Prežba
, Mrčara
and an island group called Lastovnjaci on the eastern side. Prežba is connected to the main island by a bridge at the village of Pasadur ("passage" in the local dialect). The island has a daily hydrofoil
service and ferry
("trajekt") service linking it to the mainland at Split
and stopping along the way at Korčula
and Hvar
.
The town of Lastovo is spread over the steep banks of a natural amphitheatre overlooking a fertile field, facing away from the sea. This is unusual compared to other Adriatic islands, which are normally harbour side. Other settlements on the island include the villages of Ubli
(also known as Sveti Petar), Lučica
, Zaklopatica
, Skrivena Luka
, and Pasadur
.
Despite major fires in 1971, 1998 and 2003, about 60% of Lastovo is covered with forest, mostly Holm Oak
s and Aleppo Pine
s and Mediterranean underbrush. There are rich communities of falcon
and hawk
nests. These used to be exploited by the Dubrovnik Republic
for falconry and traded to other kingdoms, especially to Kingdom of Naples
in the Middle Ages. The underwater life is the richest in the entire Adriatic, featuring lobster
s, crayfish
, octopus
and many high prized fish such as John Dory
and Grouper
s. There are no venomous snakes on the island.
sand. The highest point is Hum at 417 m (1,368.1 ft) and there are another three hills higher than 400 m (1300 ft), Pleševo Brdo, Gumanca and Mali Hum and another thirteen other hills higher than 200 m (650 ft). Its dolomitic
valleys are located between limy
hills and mild calcareous slopes rich in caves. There are five caves on the island — Rača (the largest), Puzavica, Pozalica, Grapčeva and Medvidina.
The coastline is mainly steep and the surrounding sea is deep. On the southern coast is a large, deep bay at Skrivena Luka
which offers protection from the bura
and westerly winds. The other main deep port is located on the western side at Ubli which is where the main ferry port for the island is located.
, dominated by mild, moist winters and warm, long, and dry summers. The island receives around 2,700 sun hours per year, ranking it among one of the sunniest in the Adriatic and pleasant for tourists. This produces a water temperature around 27 °C (80.6 °F) in summer. Annual rainfall is 622 millimetres (24.5 in). Since there are no permanent surface water streams, residents rely on bores, dams and wells.
who called it Ladesta and Ladeston. His source was Theopompus
, a 4th century BC Greek
historian. The names of numerous other Illyric settlements along the coast had the same suffix -est which indicates its Illyric
origins. When the Romans
conquered Dalmatia they gave the island the Latin name Augusta Insula meaning "emperors island". During the Middle Ages
, Lastovo (Lágosta), given its name to the carob or locust bean, which flourishes all over the island, or it is the tree that has christened the island, and weather Lastovo is locust, or locust has become Lastovo, there is the farther question whether the eponymous "locust" is the carob tree or the lobster, with which the crayfish (French: langouste, Italian: aligusta, arigusta) is a characterist a product of the island as the carob bean. It may not generally known that the English words "lobster
" and "Locust
" are both derived from the same source, namely, the Latin LOCUSTA, and it is remarkable circumstance than Lágosta should embody in its names, its two principal but so divergent product, the name would be transcribed as Augusta, Lagusta or Lagosta. The Slavic suffix -ovo combined with the Roman form of Lasta gives the islands present name of Lastovo.
The first traces of human presence on the island were found in the Rača cave where continuous evidence of habitation reaches as far as the late Neolithic Age. In prehistoric times the island was inhabited by the Illyrians. However finds of Greek ceramics show that the island was on one of the Greek trade routes on the Adriatic and probably a part of the state of Issa
.
When the Romans conquered the province of Dalmatia they too settled Lastovo. The Romans named the island Augusta Insula. The Romans left very clear traces of their long rule on the island, the so called "villae rusticae" (residential farming units) or the water catchment areas known as the "lokve" are amongst other monuments that remain. The Romans established a settlement on location of today's village Ubli that flourished during first centuries AD, only to become completely desolate in later centuries.
by its Slavic
name Lastobon. In 998 the Venetian Doge Pietro Orseolo II launched large military operations against Croatian and Neretvian pirates along the Adriatic and its islands, which culminated with the destruction of the town of Lastovo. After this Lastovci decided to build a city on the internal hill away from the coast which made the city more defendable. During the next two centuries, inhabitants dedicated themselves more to agriculture and neglected their earlier naval tradition. Scarcity of accurate historical documents and an almost complete silence covering the events on the island in the early Middle Ages are trustworthy signs of a great autonomy of Lastovo in that period. Lastovo may have at times come briefly under various rulers from the 7th–13th centuries, whether Byzantine
, Duklja
n or Neretvian, however, it is accepted that Lastovo generally recognised the Croatian kings as its nominal and natural rulers. In 1185 the Hvar diocese
is formed of which Lastovo is mentioned as having been part. A church synod held in Split that same year decreed that the diocese of Hvar should fall under the authority of the Archbishop of Split.
Later in the 13th century the people of Lastovo voluntarily joined the Republic of Ragusa
in 1252 after the republic promised that it would honour Lastovo's internal autonomy . This agreement was codified in the Ragusa Statute written in 1272. In 1310 Lastovo got its first written legislation, the Statute of Lastovo
, which had all the characteristics of law. The supreme authority on the island had a council consisting of 20 members who held office for life. In 1486 authorities of the Council were passed in Parliament of the Republic and the island lost much of its autonomy. Continuous limitation of the island's autonomy and higher taxes led to a short lived rebellion in 1602. On the appeal of islanders, Venice
occupied the island the following year and held it until 1606, when it was returned to Ragusa. The next attempt at rebellion was in 1652, which resulted in the loss of the island's autonomy.
During the Ottoman
conquests, Lastovo was very often a target of pirates from Ulcinj
, leading to the introduction of mandatory guard service. Guard service was abolished in the 18th century when pirates from Ulcinj became merchant sailors. The last reported outbreak of vampirism in Croatia was 'recorded' on Lastovo. The trial in Ragusa in 1737 took testimony from visitors to the island during an outbreak of severe diarrhoea which killed many locals. The islanders blamed this epidemic on vampires. This case included from Lastovo the defendants who formed a band or group of vigilante style vampire hunters. Such cases were reported throughout all of Croatia and indeed Europe in the Middle Ages.
. When they abolished the Republic in 1808, Lastovo became part of the French Empire
. The French built a fortification on Glavica hill and mobilised islanders against the British. Between 18 January and 3 February 1813, the Royal Navy
frigate HMS Apollo
and troops captured Lastovo and Korčula
. The British held the island until 1815 when the Congress of Vienna
awarded the island to the Habsburg Empire. After 1815, Lastovo was part of Dubrovnik county in the Austrian province of Dalmatia
. Until 1829, it had its own court, but later the island fell under the jurisdiction of the court in Korčula
. In the 1840s, the municipality fell into a deep economic crisis that resulted in its selling most of its forests to foreigners.
, the Austro-Hungarian Army
established a military garrison on Glavica consisted mostly of Hungarian troops. The authorities ordered blackouts and forbade the ringing of church bells during the war. At the end of 1917 four French planes bombed Lastovo. Some French troops landed on the island to reconnoiter it. Italian forces soon followed and clashed with the garrison. Some members of the Austro-Hungarian garrison escaped. The Italians took those they caught to Italy as prisoners of war
. A French plane dropping leaflets on the island on 4 November brought the news that the war was finally over. On 11 November 1918 Italian troops took possession of the island based on the 1915 Secret Treaty of London, which allocated much of Dalmatia to Italy upon Italy entering the war on the side of the Triple Alliance
. The Italians based their claim upon the presence of ethnic Italians in all parts of maritime Dalmatia. However, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
, who was a supporter of the nationality principle, blocked the allocation.
As a consequence, under the Rapallo agreement
of 1920, Italy only got Zara (today Zadar
), due to its Italian majority, and Lagosta. Apparently Italy got Lagosta for strategic reasons. Although the Italian population was in the minority, it was smaller than other Dalmatian places such as Vis
(Lissa). After the advent of Fascism in Italy (1922), the Italians followed a policy of Italianization
in all its possessions. The Italians closed the Croatian schools and press, and Italian became the only official language. At the same time, living standards improved. Many public works were started, and the island reached its peak population of approximately 2,000. This growth resulted in part from the immigration from other Dalmatian towns, of ethnic Italians who wished to live under Italian rule.
In 1941 the Axis Powers
attacked Yugoslavia, which collapsed in few days. Italy annexed part of Dalmatia; the remainder became part of the new Independent State of Croatia
. A cruel (ethnic and political) civil war combined with a war of resistance against the Axis Powers to devastate the former Yugoslavia. On September 8, 1943, after the declaration of the Armistice with Italy
, the Italian Army collapsed and Josip Broz Tito
's Partisans took over the island, incorporating it into Yugoslavia
. The partisans executed Martin Tomasin, a friend of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini
, whom he had appointed governor. Lastovo became a part of the People's Republic of Croatia
in 1945—one of the six Republics of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and into the Socialist Republic of Croatia
— one of the republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
in 1953.
At this time all the Italian residents left the island.
After World War II
, Lastovo experienced the same fate as the neighbouring island Vis
. The island became a military region barred to foreign nationals. The barring of foreign nationals led to economic stagnation and the depopulation of the island. In 1988 the ban was lifted and foreign tourists were again allowed to visit the island.
Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, but the Yugoslav People's Army only left its bases on Lastovo, one of its last footholds in Croatia, in July 1992. The war in Croatia ended in 1995. Lastovo was fortunate to have escaped much of the devastation that swept across some parts of Croatia and most of neighbouring Bosnia.
s Sušac and Glavat) are no longer populated.
The average age of the people of the Lastovo municipality was 40 years old, slightly older than the national average of 39 years old. About 91% of the people of the Lastovo municipality are Roman Catholics and 93% are Croats
. The highest level of education for 44% of the municipality was secondary school, for 13% it was college or university.
The island's population peaked at 1,738, in 1948, and has been in a steady decline since, due chiefly to emigration to mainland Croatia and abroad. The number of people who emigrated from the island between 1953 and 1991 exceeds its current population.
(1991–1995), the island has become attractive to tourists partly because it has remained largely undeveloped; even supplying the island with fresh water has been difficult.
The most important event on the island is an authentic carnival that the locals call the Poklad
. All the island residents participate by wearing folk costumes. The origins of the Lastovo carnival go back to a historical event. Legend has it that Catalan
pirates attacked neighbouring Korčula
and sent a Turkish
messenger to Lastovo to tell the islanders to surrender or they would be next. The inhabitants of Lastovo did not let themselves be intimidated — instead they armed themselves and went on the attack. The women and children prayed to Sv. Jure (St. George) for help and their prayers were answered: a storm destroyed the pirates' ships and the inhabitants of Lastovo caught the messenger. In order to mock him, he was taken through the village on the back of a donkey and was afterwards sentenced and burned to death. This event is celebrated through the Poklad
every year over a period of three days. The event takes place in the middle of February and since the summer 2006 it has become main attraction for tourists. Locals enjoy this event very much and Lastovci from all around Croatia return to Lastovo to attend the carnival.
The main church is the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian . It is situated in the oldest part of the square in the town of Lastovo and dates from the 14th century. On the main altar is the painting of Saint Cosmas and Damian. Out of the rest of the paintings Pieta, the work of an anonymous Venetian painter from 1545, can be distinguished. On its place there was a smaller church that dates back from 5th or 6th century. The church of Sv Vlaho (Saint Blaise
) from the 12th century is on the entrance of the settlement. Beside it the chapel of Saint John was built in 1607, and around the church a defence wall and a tower.
On the graveyard on the southern edge is the little church of Saint Mary in the field from the 14th century and is considered as most attractive on the island. Near the ferry port in Ubli an archaeological find of the remains of a 6th century church dedicated to Sv Petar (Saint Peter
) are situated. Other churches of interest are Sv Luka (St Luke) built in the typical Croatian 11th century sacral architecture, and Sv Jurje (St George) at Prežba also built in the 11th century, was demolished between the two World Wars. Another church called St Peter in Ubli built somewhere in the 11th–13th centuries was also unfortunately demolished by the Italians in 1933 to make way for extra fishing sheds. All together there are a total of 46 churches, making the number 46
omnipresent since the island also has 46 hills, covers 46 square kilometres, has 46 fields, and contains 46 islands in the archipelago.
The town's buildings date mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries when the construction of about 20 Renaissance
houses redefined the village's appearance. Most of them have high broad terraces which have become the "trade mark" look of Lastovo houses. Their unusual cylindrical chimneys that the locals call fumari are picturesque and unusual since they look like miniature minarets, although there is no record of Arab or Turkish influence ever directly reaching this area. The ornate chimney on the 16th century Biza Antica house is probably the oldest preserved chimney in Dalmatia. The lighthouse built on Lastovo's southern tip in 1839 predates all other lighthouses in Croatia.
variant possibly due to the influence from hundreds of years of association within the Dubrovnik Republic and also due to the island's remoteness. The first mentioned inhabitants of Lastovo were recorded in the 13th century Dubrovnik archives and the Statute of Lastovo
, written in Italian and Latin, clearly indicates that most of the population had exclusively Croatian folk names. For many centuries the only religion on the island has been Roman Catholicism
, which has contributed to the preservation of the Latin names of certain settlements. The pre-1945 Italian minority spoke the Italian or Romance dialect of Dubrovnik (Raguseo).
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County
Dubrovnik-Neretva County
The Dubrovnik–Neretva County is the southernmost Croatian county located in south Dalmatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče...
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 people, of which 93% are ethnic Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, and a land area of approximately 53 km² (20.5 sq mi). The biggest island in the municipality is also named Lastovo, as is the largest town. The majority of the population lives on the 46 km2 island of Lastovo.
Lastovo, like the rest of Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
province of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, was settled by Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
. The Romans conquered and settled the entire area, retaining control until the Avar
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
invasions and Slavic migrations
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
in the 7th century. The Croats and other Slavic tribes subjugated by the Croats secured most of the Dalmatian seaboard. Sometime around the year 1000 the Venetians
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
attacked and destroyed the settlement, due to the island's participation in piracy along the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
coast. In the 13th century, Lastovo joined the Dubrovnik Republic
Republic of Ragusa
The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...
where for several centuries it enjoyed a certain level of autonomy until the republic's conquest by the French, under Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. Austria
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
then ruled the island for the next century, then Italy and Yugoslavia until it finally became a part of the independent Republic of Croatia.
The island is noted for its 15th- and 16th-century architecture. There is a large number of churches of relatively small size, a testament to the island's long-standing Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
tradition. The major cultural event is the Poklade
Lastovo Poklad
The Poklad event held yearly on the remote Adriatic Island of Lastovo is one of the more distinctive and authentic carnival traditions celebrated in all of Croatia today. All the island residents participate by wearing folk costumes. The origins of the Lastovo carnival go back to a historical event...
, or carnival. The island largely relies on its natural beauty and preservation to attract tourists each season. In 2006 the Croatian Government made the island and its archipelago a nature park.
Geography
The island of Lastovo belongs to the central Dalmatian archipelago. Thirteen kilometers south of KorčulaKorcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
, the island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. Other islands in this group include Vis
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
, Brač
Brac
Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of 396 km², making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. Its tallest peak, Vidova Gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at 778 m, making it the highest island point in the Adriatic...
, Hvar
Hvar
- Climate :The climate of Hvar is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The yearly average air temperature is , 686 mm of precipitation fall on the town of Hvar on average every year and the town has a total of 2800 sunshine hours per year. For comparison Hvar has an average of 7.7...
, Korčula and Mljet
Mljet
Mljet is the most southerly and easterly of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea belt 500 m wide from the most prominent cape of Mljet covering an area of...
. The dimensions of the island are approximately 9.8 km (6.1 mi) long by up to 5.8 km (3.6 mi) wide.
The Lastovo archipelago contains a total of 46 islands, including the larger islands Sušac
Sušac
Sušac is a small rocky island in the Adriatic Sea with an area of 4.03 km2, and 16.4 km of coastline southwest of Korčula and Lastovo, on the halfway to the island of Vis, in Croatia. The coast consists of slopes and cliffs over 100 meters tall, but the opposite side features a natural harbour. A...
, Prežba
Prežba
Prežba is a small uninhabited island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, located northwest of the island of Lastovo in southern Dalmatia. It is connected to Lastovo by a bridge at the village of Pasadur on Lastovo...
, Mrčara
Mrčara
Mrčara is a small uninhabited island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, located west of the islands of Prežba and Lastovo in southern Dalmatia...
and an island group called Lastovnjaci on the eastern side. Prežba is connected to the main island by a bridge at the village of Pasadur ("passage" in the local dialect). The island has a daily hydrofoil
Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
service and ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
("trajekt") service linking it to the mainland at Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
and stopping along the way at Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
and Hvar
Hvar
- Climate :The climate of Hvar is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The yearly average air temperature is , 686 mm of precipitation fall on the town of Hvar on average every year and the town has a total of 2800 sunshine hours per year. For comparison Hvar has an average of 7.7...
.
The town of Lastovo is spread over the steep banks of a natural amphitheatre overlooking a fertile field, facing away from the sea. This is unusual compared to other Adriatic islands, which are normally harbour side. Other settlements on the island include the villages of Ubli
Ubli, Lastovo
Uble, sometimes referred to as Ubli, is a small coastal village in southern Croatia. It is located on the island of Lastovo in Dubrovnik-Neretva County....
(also known as Sveti Petar), Lučica
Lučica
Lučica is a village in Karlovac County in central Croatia....
, Zaklopatica
Zaklopatica
Zaklopatica is a small village in southern Croatia. It is located on the Adriatic island of Lastovo in Dubrovnik-Neretva County....
, Skrivena Luka
Skrivena Luka
Skrivena Luka is a small village in Croatia. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Lastovo and belongs to the eponymous municipality within Dubrovnik-Neretva County in the south of the country....
, and Pasadur
Pasadur
Pasadur is a small coastal village in southern Croatia. It is located in the northwest shore of the island of Lastovo, facing the nearby uninhabited isle of Prežba. Administratively it belongs to the Lastovo municipality, which is in turn part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County....
.
Despite major fires in 1971, 1998 and 2003, about 60% of Lastovo is covered with forest, mostly Holm Oak
Holm Oak
Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak or Holly Oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly...
s and Aleppo Pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
s and Mediterranean underbrush. There are rich communities of falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
and hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
nests. These used to be exploited by the Dubrovnik Republic
Republic of Ragusa
The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...
for falconry and traded to other kingdoms, especially to Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
in the Middle Ages. The underwater life is the richest in the entire Adriatic, featuring lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
s, crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
, octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
and many high prized fish such as John Dory
John Dory
John Dory, also known as St Pierre or Peter's Fish, refers to fish of the genus Zeus, especially Zeus faber, of widespread distribution. It is an edible benthic coastal marine fish with a laterally compressed olive-yellow body which has a large dark spot, and long spines on the dorsal fin...
and Grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
s. There are no venomous snakes on the island.
Landscape and coastline
Lastovo has a dynamic landscape consisting of 46 hills and 46 karstic fields that often contain layers of red soil and quartzQuartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
sand. The highest point is Hum at 417 m (1,368.1 ft) and there are another three hills higher than 400 m (1300 ft), Pleševo Brdo, Gumanca and Mali Hum and another thirteen other hills higher than 200 m (650 ft). Its dolomitic
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
valleys are located between limy
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
hills and mild calcareous slopes rich in caves. There are five caves on the island — Rača (the largest), Puzavica, Pozalica, Grapčeva and Medvidina.
Skrivena Luka
Skrivena Luka is a small village in Croatia. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Lastovo and belongs to the eponymous municipality within Dubrovnik-Neretva County in the south of the country....
which offers protection from the bura
Bora (wind)
Bora or Bura is a northern to north-eastern katabatic wind in the Adriatic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, and Turkey....
and westerly winds. The other main deep port is located on the western side at Ubli which is where the main ferry port for the island is located.
Climate
Lastovo possesses all the basic characteristics of the Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, dominated by mild, moist winters and warm, long, and dry summers. The island receives around 2,700 sun hours per year, ranking it among one of the sunniest in the Adriatic and pleasant for tourists. This produces a water temperature around 27 °C (80.6 °F) in summer. Annual rainfall is 622 millimetres (24.5 in). Since there are no permanent surface water streams, residents rely on bores, dams and wells.
History
Prehistory and antiquity
The island was first mentioned by 6th century lexicographer Stephen from ByzantiumByzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
who called it Ladesta and Ladeston. His source was Theopompus
Theopompus
Theopompus was a Greek historian and rhetorician- Biography :Theopompus was born on Chios. In early youth he seems to have spent some time at Athens, along with his father, who had been exiled on account of his Laconian sympathies...
, a 4th century BC Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
historian. The names of numerous other Illyric settlements along the coast had the same suffix -est which indicates its Illyric
Illyrian languages
The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulanti...
origins. When the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
conquered Dalmatia they gave the island the Latin name Augusta Insula meaning "emperors island". During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Lastovo (Lágosta), given its name to the carob or locust bean, which flourishes all over the island, or it is the tree that has christened the island, and weather Lastovo is locust, or locust has become Lastovo, there is the farther question whether the eponymous "locust" is the carob tree or the lobster, with which the crayfish (French: langouste, Italian: aligusta, arigusta) is a characterist a product of the island as the carob bean. It may not generally known that the English words "lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
" and "Locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
" are both derived from the same source, namely, the Latin LOCUSTA, and it is remarkable circumstance than Lágosta should embody in its names, its two principal but so divergent product, the name would be transcribed as Augusta, Lagusta or Lagosta. The Slavic suffix -ovo combined with the Roman form of Lasta gives the islands present name of Lastovo.
The first traces of human presence on the island were found in the Rača cave where continuous evidence of habitation reaches as far as the late Neolithic Age. In prehistoric times the island was inhabited by the Illyrians. However finds of Greek ceramics show that the island was on one of the Greek trade routes on the Adriatic and probably a part of the state of Issa
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
.
When the Romans conquered the province of Dalmatia they too settled Lastovo. The Romans named the island Augusta Insula. The Romans left very clear traces of their long rule on the island, the so called "villae rusticae" (residential farming units) or the water catchment areas known as the "lokve" are amongst other monuments that remain. The Romans established a settlement on location of today's village Ubli that flourished during first centuries AD, only to become completely desolate in later centuries.
Middle Ages
With the arrival of the Slavs to Adriatic in the 7th century, Croats eventually settled most of Dalmatia which included Lastovo. Around 950, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos mentions Lastovo in his De Administrando ImperioDe Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
by its Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
name Lastobon. In 998 the Venetian Doge Pietro Orseolo II launched large military operations against Croatian and Neretvian pirates along the Adriatic and its islands, which culminated with the destruction of the town of Lastovo. After this Lastovci decided to build a city on the internal hill away from the coast which made the city more defendable. During the next two centuries, inhabitants dedicated themselves more to agriculture and neglected their earlier naval tradition. Scarcity of accurate historical documents and an almost complete silence covering the events on the island in the early Middle Ages are trustworthy signs of a great autonomy of Lastovo in that period. Lastovo may have at times come briefly under various rulers from the 7th–13th centuries, whether Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
n or Neretvian, however, it is accepted that Lastovo generally recognised the Croatian kings as its nominal and natural rulers. In 1185 the Hvar diocese
Hvar diocese
The Roman Catholic diocese of Hvar-Brač-Vis is a diocese in the Dalmatian islands in Croatia.The diocese was founded in 1154 by the Venetians after their conquest of the island in 1147. The cathedral was setup at Stari Grad a later transferred to Hvar...
is formed of which Lastovo is mentioned as having been part. A church synod held in Split that same year decreed that the diocese of Hvar should fall under the authority of the Archbishop of Split.
Republic of Ragusa
Republic of Ragusa
The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...
in 1252 after the republic promised that it would honour Lastovo's internal autonomy . This agreement was codified in the Ragusa Statute written in 1272. In 1310 Lastovo got its first written legislation, the Statute of Lastovo
Statute of Lastovo
The Statute of Lastovo, or Codex of Lastovo, was written in 1310. Lastovo codified its common law and wrote up its first written legislation. The statute is written mostly in Italian and contains some Latin. The statute also contains many Croatian folk names at the time of writing in 1310....
, which had all the characteristics of law. The supreme authority on the island had a council consisting of 20 members who held office for life. In 1486 authorities of the Council were passed in Parliament of the Republic and the island lost much of its autonomy. Continuous limitation of the island's autonomy and higher taxes led to a short lived rebellion in 1602. On the appeal of islanders, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
occupied the island the following year and held it until 1606, when it was returned to Ragusa. The next attempt at rebellion was in 1652, which resulted in the loss of the island's autonomy.
During the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
conquests, Lastovo was very often a target of pirates from Ulcinj
Ulcinj
Ulcinj is a coastal resort town and municipality in Montenegro. The town of Ulcinj has a population of 10,828 of which the majority are Albanians...
, leading to the introduction of mandatory guard service. Guard service was abolished in the 18th century when pirates from Ulcinj became merchant sailors. The last reported outbreak of vampirism in Croatia was 'recorded' on Lastovo. The trial in Ragusa in 1737 took testimony from visitors to the island during an outbreak of severe diarrhoea which killed many locals. The islanders blamed this epidemic on vampires. This case included from Lastovo the defendants who formed a band or group of vigilante style vampire hunters. Such cases were reported throughout all of Croatia and indeed Europe in the Middle Ages.
19th century
In 1806 the French took control of the Republic of RagusaRepublic of Ragusa
The Republic of Ragusa or Republic of Dubrovnik was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from 1358 to 1808...
. When they abolished the Republic in 1808, Lastovo became part of the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. The French built a fortification on Glavica hill and mobilised islanders against the British. Between 18 January and 3 February 1813, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
frigate HMS Apollo
HMS Apollo (1805)
HMS Apollo, the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to be named for the Greek god Apollo, was a fifth-rate frigate of the Lively class, carrying 38 guns, launched in 1805 and broken up in 1856.-Napoleonic Wars:...
and troops captured Lastovo and Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
. The British held the island until 1815 when the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
awarded the island to the Habsburg Empire. After 1815, Lastovo was part of Dubrovnik county in the Austrian province of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
. Until 1829, it had its own court, but later the island fell under the jurisdiction of the court in Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
. In the 1840s, the municipality fell into a deep economic crisis that resulted in its selling most of its forests to foreigners.
20th century
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
established a military garrison on Glavica consisted mostly of Hungarian troops. The authorities ordered blackouts and forbade the ringing of church bells during the war. At the end of 1917 four French planes bombed Lastovo. Some French troops landed on the island to reconnoiter it. Italian forces soon followed and clashed with the garrison. Some members of the Austro-Hungarian garrison escaped. The Italians took those they caught to Italy as prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. A French plane dropping leaflets on the island on 4 November brought the news that the war was finally over. On 11 November 1918 Italian troops took possession of the island based on the 1915 Secret Treaty of London, which allocated much of Dalmatia to Italy upon Italy entering the war on the side of the Triple Alliance
Triple Alliance
Triple Alliance may refer to:* Aztec Triple Alliance - Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan; better known as the Aztec Empire* Triple Alliance - England, France and the Dutch Republic...
. The Italians based their claim upon the presence of ethnic Italians in all parts of maritime Dalmatia. However, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, who was a supporter of the nationality principle, blocked the allocation.
Treaty of Rapallo, 1920
The Treaty of Rapallo was a treaty between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , signed to solve the dispute over some territories in the upper Adriatic, in Dalmatia and in the region which became known as the Julian March.The treaty was signed on 12 November 1920 in...
of 1920, Italy only got Zara (today Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
), due to its Italian majority, and Lagosta. Apparently Italy got Lagosta for strategic reasons. Although the Italian population was in the minority, it was smaller than other Dalmatian places such as Vis
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
(Lissa). After the advent of Fascism in Italy (1922), the Italians followed a policy of Italianization
Italianization
Italianization or Italianisation is a term used to describe a process of cultural assimilation in which ethnically non or partially Italian people or territory become Italian. The process can be voluntary or forced...
in all its possessions. The Italians closed the Croatian schools and press, and Italian became the only official language. At the same time, living standards improved. Many public works were started, and the island reached its peak population of approximately 2,000. This growth resulted in part from the immigration from other Dalmatian towns, of ethnic Italians who wished to live under Italian rule.
In 1941 the Axis Powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
attacked Yugoslavia, which collapsed in few days. Italy annexed part of Dalmatia; the remainder became part of the new Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
. A cruel (ethnic and political) civil war combined with a war of resistance against the Axis Powers to devastate the former Yugoslavia. On September 8, 1943, after the declaration of the Armistice with Italy
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
, the Italian Army collapsed and Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's Partisans took over the island, incorporating it into Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. The partisans executed Martin Tomasin, a friend of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, whom he had appointed governor. Lastovo became a part of the People's Republic of Croatia
History of Croatia
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...
in 1945—one of the six Republics of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and into the Socialist Republic of Croatia
History of Croatia
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...
— one of the republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
in 1953.
At this time all the Italian residents left the island.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Lastovo experienced the same fate as the neighbouring island Vis
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
. The island became a military region barred to foreign nationals. The barring of foreign nationals led to economic stagnation and the depopulation of the island. In 1988 the ban was lifted and foreign tourists were again allowed to visit the island.
Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, but the Yugoslav People's Army only left its bases on Lastovo, one of its last footholds in Croatia, in July 1992. The war in Croatia ended in 1995. Lastovo was fortunate to have escaped much of the devastation that swept across some parts of Croatia and most of neighbouring Bosnia.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Lastovo has a population of 835 people living in 291 households, with 451 people in the town of Lastovo. There are seven registered settlements on the island, of which two (lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s Sušac and Glavat) are no longer populated.
The average age of the people of the Lastovo municipality was 40 years old, slightly older than the national average of 39 years old. About 91% of the people of the Lastovo municipality are Roman Catholics and 93% are Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
. The highest level of education for 44% of the municipality was secondary school, for 13% it was college or university.
The island's population peaked at 1,738, in 1948, and has been in a steady decline since, due chiefly to emigration to mainland Croatia and abroad. The number of people who emigrated from the island between 1953 and 1991 exceeds its current population.
Economy
Like many of the Mediterranean islands, the Lastovo economy is centred around agriculture and tourism. The 2003 Agricultural Census reported that the municipality had 57 ha (140.8 acre) of land used for agriculture. Of this 25 ha (61.8 acre) were vineyards and over 9000 olive trees grew in Lastovo. Following decades of isolation from foreigners, due to the Yugoslav National Army activities and the Croatian War of IndependenceCroatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
(1991–1995), the island has become attractive to tourists partly because it has remained largely undeveloped; even supplying the island with fresh water has been difficult.
Poklad
Lastovo Poklad
The Poklad event held yearly on the remote Adriatic Island of Lastovo is one of the more distinctive and authentic carnival traditions celebrated in all of Croatia today. All the island residents participate by wearing folk costumes. The origins of the Lastovo carnival go back to a historical event...
. All the island residents participate by wearing folk costumes. The origins of the Lastovo carnival go back to a historical event. Legend has it that Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
pirates attacked neighbouring Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
and sent a Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
messenger to Lastovo to tell the islanders to surrender or they would be next. The inhabitants of Lastovo did not let themselves be intimidated — instead they armed themselves and went on the attack. The women and children prayed to Sv. Jure (St. George) for help and their prayers were answered: a storm destroyed the pirates' ships and the inhabitants of Lastovo caught the messenger. In order to mock him, he was taken through the village on the back of a donkey and was afterwards sentenced and burned to death. This event is celebrated through the Poklad
Lastovo Poklad
The Poklad event held yearly on the remote Adriatic Island of Lastovo is one of the more distinctive and authentic carnival traditions celebrated in all of Croatia today. All the island residents participate by wearing folk costumes. The origins of the Lastovo carnival go back to a historical event...
every year over a period of three days. The event takes place in the middle of February and since the summer 2006 it has become main attraction for tourists. Locals enjoy this event very much and Lastovci from all around Croatia return to Lastovo to attend the carnival.
Churches
Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...
) from the 12th century is on the entrance of the settlement. Beside it the chapel of Saint John was built in 1607, and around the church a defence wall and a tower.
On the graveyard on the southern edge is the little church of Saint Mary in the field from the 14th century and is considered as most attractive on the island. Near the ferry port in Ubli an archaeological find of the remains of a 6th century church dedicated to Sv Petar (Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
) are situated. Other churches of interest are Sv Luka (St Luke) built in the typical Croatian 11th century sacral architecture, and Sv Jurje (St George) at Prežba also built in the 11th century, was demolished between the two World Wars. Another church called St Peter in Ubli built somewhere in the 11th–13th centuries was also unfortunately demolished by the Italians in 1933 to make way for extra fishing sheds. All together there are a total of 46 churches, making the number 46
46 (number)
46 is the natural number following 45 and preceding 47.- In mathematics :Forty-six is a Wedderburn-Etherington number, an enneagonal number and a centered triangular number. It is the sum of the totient function for the first twelve integers. 46 is the largest even integer that can't be expressed...
omnipresent since the island also has 46 hills, covers 46 square kilometres, has 46 fields, and contains 46 islands in the archipelago.
Architecture
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
houses redefined the village's appearance. Most of them have high broad terraces which have become the "trade mark" look of Lastovo houses. Their unusual cylindrical chimneys that the locals call fumari are picturesque and unusual since they look like miniature minarets, although there is no record of Arab or Turkish influence ever directly reaching this area. The ornate chimney on the 16th century Biza Antica house is probably the oldest preserved chimney in Dalmatia. The lighthouse built on Lastovo's southern tip in 1839 predates all other lighthouses in Croatia.
Language
Inhabitants speak the Čakavian dialect of the Croatian language, maintaining a unique JekavianShtokavian dialect
Shtokavian or Štokavian is the prestige dialect of the Serbo-Croatian language, and the basis of its Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Montenegrin standards...
variant possibly due to the influence from hundreds of years of association within the Dubrovnik Republic and also due to the island's remoteness. The first mentioned inhabitants of Lastovo were recorded in the 13th century Dubrovnik archives and the Statute of Lastovo
Statute of Lastovo
The Statute of Lastovo, or Codex of Lastovo, was written in 1310. Lastovo codified its common law and wrote up its first written legislation. The statute is written mostly in Italian and contains some Latin. The statute also contains many Croatian folk names at the time of writing in 1310....
, written in Italian and Latin, clearly indicates that most of the population had exclusively Croatian folk names. For many centuries the only religion on the island has been Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, which has contributed to the preservation of the Latin names of certain settlements. The pre-1945 Italian minority spoke the Italian or Romance dialect of Dubrovnik (Raguseo).
Notable people
- Dobrić DobričevićDobric DobricevicDobrić Dobričević one of the pioneers of printing in Europe, was born in 1454 on the small Adriatic Island of Lastovo in the Republic of Ragusa . He printed in Venice, Verona, Brescia and Lyon...
(Bonino de Bonini), one of the pioneers of printingPrintingPrinting is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
in Europe. He was born in 1454 and engaged in printing in VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, VeronaVeronaVerona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, BresciaBresciaBrescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
and LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
. He printed ancient classics by Tibullis, CatullusCatullusGaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, Propertius, VirgilVirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, PlutarchPlutarchPlutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
and AesopAesopAesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
, as well as DanteDANTEDelivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
's Divine Comedy. His works were considered among the best examples of printing of his time. He died in TrevisoTrevisoTreviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
in 1528. - Tony ŠantićTony SanticTony Šantić Tony Šantić Tony Šantić (born 17 October 1952, Lastovo, Croatia, is a noted Australian thoroughbred owner and tuna farmer. He came to Australia with his family in 1958, aged six. His parents settled in Geelong, Victoria for the next 8 years before Tony and his mother moved to Port...
is the owner of the racehorse Makybe DivaMakybe DivaMakybe Diva is a British-bred, Australian-trained Thoroughbred who became the first racehorse to win the famed Melbourne Cup on three occasions: 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2005, she also won the Cox Plate. Makybe Diva is the highest stakes-earner in Australasian horse racing history, with winnings...
, a three-time winner of the Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
, Australia's most prestigious horse race. Tony Šantić is also a successful tuna fisherman with large operations in South Australia and Croatia. - Anselmo Antica was a visionary 18th Century BenedictineBenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
who wanted the Republic of Dubrovnik to establish official diplomatic relations with the United States. Eventually, the Dubrovnik Republic became the first state to recognize the United States as a sovereign state.
Further reading
- An Overview of Prehistoric and Early Historic Settlement, Topography, and Maritime Connections on Lastovo Island, Croatia
- Prilike na otoku Lastovu u XIX. stoljeću
- Jubilej otočne mudrosti
- From Ritual to Theatre and Back: the Lastovo Island Carnival (PDF)
- Archaeological Investigations on the Island of Lastovo, Croatia: Preliminary Report