TOWN OF PERAST MUSEUM
Established by the Municipal Council in 1937, from the museum collection gathered mostly through donations by the inhabitants of Perast, heirs to the renowned Perast families, during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Besides the portraits of the famous seafarers of Perast, weapons and other exhibits from the history of Perast, there were also the archives of the Municipality of Perast from the year 1441, archival data from the years 1941-45, archives of Perast Primary School, Viskovic family library and other famous families, as well as the “Gallery of Solidarity”. The Museum was housed in Perast Town Hall, in the square next to St. Nicholas Church. The Museum is currently housed in Bujovic Palace, which was reconstructed in 1957 for this very purpose. The Palace is one of the most beautiful examples of the 17th century Baroque architecture, originally erected by the brothers Ivan and Vicko Bujovic in 1694. Through rich museum holdings, classified in several collections one can follow historical, maritime, economic and cultural development of Perast during the Venetian rule (1420-1797) as well as throughout the 19th century during French and Austrian rule, when Perast experiences decadence, a lot faster than many other places in Boka Bay. Bujovic Palace and the Museum sustained considerable damage during the 1979 earthquake. They underwent reconstruction between 1979 and 1998. The reconstruction will have been completed by the end of 2006 aiming to secure additional space inside the building so as to put on display the exhibits of exceptional cultural value. The reconstruction was made possible thanks to the financial support of the peoples of the USA, via the Consulate to Montenegro, and the putting on display of precious exhibits will contribute to greater attractiveness of the Town of Perast.
OUR LADY OF THE ROCK
The islet of Our Lady of the Rock was created artificially by sinking stones around the existing rock. Later on, in 1630, the church was erected which houses rich collection of silver coins with the reliefs depicting vessels testifying to the development of maritime activities in Boka Bay. The interior of the church is decorated in 68 paintings, the works of art of the Baroque master painter Tripo Kokolja, from Perast. On the right-hand altar there is the painting of St. Rocco, the work of art of the Italian painter Tiepolo. The adjacent building houses a small museum containing a rich collection of paintings.
VRMAC NATURE PARK
Natural beauties are important resources of Kotor Municipality. First of all, there is Vrmac Nature Park which has been proposed or regional nature park – consequently imposing the cooperation between the municipalities of Tivat and Kotor, first of all with regards to the regimes of the protection of natural and cultural qualities of this region. Vrmac represents an integral area of indigenous and cultivated nature. It unifies a specific mosaic of cultivated and natural landscape with particularly characteristic areas under pine trees, maquis with deciduous oak tree cover, black locust with individual or groups of chestnut trees, different forms of maquis and shrubs with the communities of pinus mugo and oak trees and individual groups of cypress trees. The succession of agricultural land (mostly grassland), different forest ingredients, as well as the presence and compactness of the settlements like Gornja Lastva, Gornji Bogdašići and other ensembles, make distinct identity of that area.
In Vrmac region there also churches the oldest of which dates back to the 9th century, rural ensembles, remains of fortifications and commercial structures from the period of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. These qualities need to be preserved, both individually and as ensembles. It is necessary to organize them in such a way so as to ensure their durable recognizable presence in the space. Regulation of Nature park is proposed (in the future to be turned into a regional park), requiring the protection from the penetration into the forest vegetation, preservation and maintenance of the edges of the settlements and the pertaining agricultural land.
PREHISTORIC DRAWINGS, LIPCI
Lipci Rock is situated in the midst of a naturally formed amphitheatre above the settlement of Lipci, in the northern part of Risan Bay in the Municipality of Kotor. Lipci Rock is a category II archaeological monument of culture, since on the wall of the rock shelter there are prehistoric drawings, depicting deer hunting scenes, symbolic sign of the rising Sun, as well as some other symbols. These scenes, according to scientific findings, not only represent a realistic account, i.e. illustration of an occupation – hunt, but also a cult-like depiction associated with it. The paintings in Lipci rock shelter represent the most complete ensemble of Balkan prehistoric art, which can serve for the studying of a distant epoch, of the spiritual life of the inhabitants of Boka Kotorska Bay. Lipci drawings, created in the 8th century BC, are second oldest on the Adriatic coast. Due to chronological and other values of importance for the knowledge of the cultural past, the drawings in the rock shelter deserve exceptional attention, i.e. for the site in which they had survived for millennia to be adequately protected, studied and presented to public.
TEMPLE OF OUR LADY, PRČANJ
The Temple of Our Lady is a monumental Baroque edifice falling among the biggest sacral structures in the Adriatic region. It was being built from 1790 to 1908 according to the design of the Venetian architect Bernardin Macaruzzi. Luxurious architecture, facade with Doric and Corinthian columns, sumptuously articulated access staircase, as well as particularly precious collection of silverware, textile, paintings and sculptures created by renowned artists, make this temple a monument of culture of exceptional artistic and aesthetic value.
SAINT LUCAS CHURCH, KOTOR, OLD TOWN
Mauro Kacafrangi had had the church of St. Lucas built in 1195 as testified by the founder’s inscription on the western facade. This is a modest single-nave church with the nave divided into three bays. It has all the features of Romanesque and Byzantine architecture, and this is the only edifice in the Town that did not sustain significant damage during the earthquake. Soon after the construction, the Church was fresco painted, which only fragments have remained of on the southern wall. The iconostasis is the work of Dimitrije Daskal, the founder of the Rafailović Boka Kotorska School of painting from the 18th century. This church had once been Catholic, but following the 1667 earthquake it was handed over to the Orthodox believer to practice their religion. This is the reason why the Church has got two altars – one Catholic and one Orthodox. The floor in the Church is composed of tomb plates of the inhabitants of Kotor since up to the 1930-ies burials were being performed inside the very church.
MONTENEGRO MARITIME MUSEUM, KOTOR OLD TOWN
The Montenegro Maritime Museum (Museum Maritimum) in Kotor was created with gradual development of the original collection of the Fraternity of “Boka Navy”, established around 1880 and opened to public in 1900. In the year 1938 it was rearranged and opened on the first floor of the present-day Museum building. After the end of the World War II, from 1949 to 1952 the entire building, 18th century Baroque palace that once belonged to the noble family of Grgurina, underwent complete restoration and adaptation for the needs of the Museum. Disastrous earthquake on 15th April 1979 interrupted regular activities of the Museum, since the building had sustained considerable damage, only to undergo rehabilitation, conservation and restoration works from 1982 to 1984. The Museum was reopened after five years. Admission fees: Adults (use of headphones in 5 languages) – € 4,00; Children – € 1,00; Groups (more than 10 persons) – € 1,30; use of headphones (in 5 languages) – € 2,00; special services: use of department for the disabled in the ground-floor of the Museum. Photo and video cameras may not be used in the Museum unless approved by the Head of the institution. Guide service: during off-season it is necessary to announce the arrival of organized groups. Parking area: in the vicinity of the Old Town. Professional staff: Mileva Pejaković-Vujošević, MA, Museum advisor, Museum Director, Vasija Rapovac, Secretary, Petar Palavršić, curator, Radojka Janićijević, museum advisor, Jelena Karadžić, curator, Milica Vujović, conservator, Smilja Strunjaš, conservator Slavko Dabinović, librarian.
KOTOR RAMPARTS AND FORTRESS, OLD TOWN
Medieval fortified town of Kotor is situated at the very end of Boka Kotorska Bay. It is not known when the earliest settlement had been established on the site of the present-day town. In the classical period, at the site of the present-day Kotor, or in its vicinity, there had been the Town of Acruvium, mentioned by the classical authors Livy, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy. As of the 7th century it appears under the name of Decaderon and Decatarum, which the Slavic name of Kotor was derived from. Pisani mentions the ”Upper Town”, which is related to the oldest part of the settlement, on top of St. John Hill, and the ”Lower Town”, looted by the Saracens in 841, and by the Macedonian Emperor Samuel at the end of the 10th century. In the 11th century it belongs to the state of Doclea under Vojisavljević dynasty. As of 1185 it belongs to the state of Raška, under Nemanjić dynasty, when the Town experiences economic and cultural prosperity”. After the fall of Raška in 1371, it falls under a short rule of Hungaro-Croatian kings, then of the Bosnian king Tvrtko, only to exist as an independent commune from 1391 to 1420. Then comes almost four centuries’ long Venetian rule (1420-1797), and more than a century long Austro-Hungarian rule (1814-1918). All these frequent administrative-political changes have left indelible traces in the life of the Town and on its culturo-historical monuments. Kotor is the biggest ancient urban ensemble in Montenegro. Its historic core was being spread in a triangular area between the sea and the hill, then also between the river Škurda and the underwater spring of Gurdić. Inside the powerful town ramparts there is a preserved urban matrix, with mainly medieval spatial distribution, narrow winding streets and numerous bigger and smaller town squares with churches and palaces as principal urban landmarks. Around them there are town insula with civic houses, the facades of which are built of nicely shaped stone, coming from the local or Korčula quarries, which lands harmony and specific Mediterranean colour to the ensemble. Powerful town ramparts frame the historic town core, stretching along the edge of St. John hill up to the very top, as the most eminent strategic point. The ramparts grew successively, in parallel with the spreading of the Town. It is not known for certain when the construction of the ramparts had begun. The oldest sections are those next to the North Town Gate on the river Škurda, and in the south-western section along the seafront. Later on, when firearms started being used, their vertical structure was being reinforced by means of buttresses built against the wall on the outside. As of the 15th century, Kotor becomes a frontier town, thus, because of the permanent danger from Turkish attacks, the ramparts are enlarged and reinforced, Northern gate is constructed (1540), while the Western Gate is reconstructed (1555) and the Southern one receives multiple reinforcements along the underwater spring and bastion of Gurdić. Along the seashore and along the river Škurda, several bastions are built with the dominating Citadella bastion. The works on the ramparts had lasted until the 19th century, especially on their upper section. Within the framework of the ramparts, on the slope of St. John Hill, there is the church of Our Lady of Health, called also Our Lady of Rest, which was used for the religious practice of the army crew of the upper fortress. Archaeologically oldest recorded building inside the Town is the Early Christian basilica from the 6th century, found below the present-day church of St. Mary’s Collegiate. Presumably, that had been a cathedral church, which point out to the assumption that already at that time Kotor had been an important settlement and an episcopal seat. At the beginning of the 9th century, the Town acquires it patron saint – St. Tryphon (locally called “Tripun”), who gets its memorial church consecrated in 809. The most intensive urban development cannot be followed prior to the 12th century. New big cathedral is erected then (1166), followed by numerous Romanesque churches: St. Lucas (1195), St. Mary’s Collegiate (1221), St. Anne (beginning of the 13th century), St. Paul’s (1263) and some other unpreserved churches. Out of Gothic palaces, Drago family palace is the one to stand out, as well as the remains of the reconstructed palaces of Buća and Bisanti families. There are also numerous remains of architectural sculpture – portals, triforas, biforas and other relief decorations. Besides the local master builders, stonecutters and sculptors, with special place among them held by Friar Vito from Kotor, the master builder of Dečani Monastery, there are master craftsmen in Kotor who had come from other coastal towns, as well as few foreigners. Particularly noted among craftsmen were goldsmiths, whose products were widely known, to the extent that some of them were also active in other countries. Among their artistic-artisanal creations – sacral, votive and luxurious – which are kept in the treasury of the cathedral and other churches, special place belongs to the gilded silver altarpiece in the cathedral. A group of painters known as pictores graeci were being active in Kotor during the 13th and the 14th century. The written sources from Kotor archives mention Nikola and Manojlo at the beginning, and Georgije at the end of the 14th century. Some of these ”Greek painters” fresco painted the Cathedral and St. Mary’s Collegiate Church, out of which only fragments have been preserved. As of the works of the greatest Kotor painter, Lovro Marinov Dobričević, very few have been preserved. He is attributed the frescoes in St. Anne’s Church, as well as the painting on wood in the Cathedral with Our Lady with Christ, on one side, and Ecce Homo, on the other. Several churches (St. Joseph, Our Lady of Angels, Holy Spirit), palaces (Pima, Grubonja, Grgurina) and civic houses were being built in Baroque style, while numerous other edifices, both sacral and profane, were made look Baroque. The needs for painted and sculptural works were mostly being satisfied through import from Venice. Only a few local masters were active in the Town, like Fra Desiderio of Kotor, or some foreign ones, like Francesco Cabianca, a Venetian sculptor, who made his best works in Kotor at the beginning of the 18th century. The last extensive construction undertakings within the town core were executed during the Austro-Hungarian rule when, at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, several edifices were built, both public and private, in the spirit of Secession, which were not the best of choices for the urban core of the ancient Kotor. Due to the authenticity and general culturo-historic values, as a centuries’ long link between the Mediterranean and the Balkan hinterland, Kotor has found its place on the UNESCO World natural and Cultural Heritage List.
SAINT TRYPHON CATHEDRAL, KOTOR, OLD TOWN
St. Tryphon Cathedral is the most significant monument of the medieval Town of Kotor. It was erected upon an older cultural site, where in 809 a smaller Pre-Romanesque church had been built dedicated to the same saint. As shown by the most recent archaeological discoveries, the original building had had Latin cross plan with three adjacent apses and, most probably, the dome above the central section. Its founder had been Andrea Saracenis, a citizen of Kotor, as testified by the sarcophagus found next to the present-day church and showing the inscription with his name. The construction of the Cathedral lasted for several decades. It was finally completed and consecrated in 1166. There is a preserved written testimony to this event. According to its ground-floor plan, the Cathedral is a three-aisled basilica the central nave of which is twice as wide as the two lateral ones, in between which there are alternating powerful pillars and columns with Corinthian capitals, some of which, those of Classical origin, are used secondarily here. The aisles end in semi-circular apses. Above the central bay there once stood a dome, removed after the disastrous earthquakes during the 16th century. Alongside the western facade there are two bell-towers connected by means of a semi-circular vaulted portico with decorative reliefs along the edge. The bell-towers acquired their present-day look at the end of the 17th century, following the 1667 earthquake, in which the Cathedral sustained serious damage. Out of sculptural-decorative elements, Baroque profiled openings on the bell-tower stand out, as well as a series of stylized heads around their cornices, large rosette on the facade, triforas on the upper floor of the central nave, a series of blind arcades along the roof cornice, the reconstructed southern portal and the main apse trifora in particular, with harmoniously composed Romanesque-Gothic motifs, with the appearance dating back to the 14th century. St. Tryphon Cathedral possesses valuable examples of furniture and works of art, both in the church, and in the treasury – reliquary. Special rarity is one side of the ciborium from the original 9th century church with Pre-Romanesque interlace and lions. The new, high ciborium dates back to the second half of the 14th century, and it is most likely the work of the Friar Vito of Kotor’s apprentice. The lateral apses house Gothic sculptures - stone Pieta of Nordic origin, as well as a wooden painted statue of St. Vincent Ferrer, a 15th century work from Dubrovnik. The four marble altars were made in Venice in the 18th century. The relief of Our Lady with Christ and saints was made by Desiderio of Kotor in Baroque manner. There is also a masterpiece of the medieval goldsmithery of Kotor - silver gilded altarpiece. Out of the frescoes that used to adorn the entire interior of the church, the works of the so called Pictores graeci, only minor fragments have been preserved –Crucifix and Deposition of Christ in the apse, as well as about a dozen figures in the arch crowns in between the aisles. Out of the easel paintings Bassano the Elder’s Crucifix stands out, then also the bilateral icon with Our Lady and Christ in the sarcophagus, attributed to Lovro Dobricevic; St. Bartholomew, St. George and St. Antonin di Girolamo da Santa Croce, The Adoration of the Magi by Michael Neidlinger and several other works made by unknown authors. The Reliquary of the Cathedral is situated in the semi-circular chapel on the upper floor, attached to the northern aisle, in which marble reliefs and free standing statues were made by the Venetian sculptor Francesco Cabianca at the beginning of the 18th century. Besides the silver relic box and St. Tryphon’s “holy head”, numerous relics are preserved and votive objects of different forms, the works of Kotor goldsmiths from the 15th to the 20th century.
ROMAN MOSAICS, RISAN
Risan is the oldest settlements in Boka Bay. It is mentioned already in the 3rd century BC as an Illyrian fortification. According to the popular tradition, under the onslaught of the Romans, the Illyrian Queen Teuta had found her shelter there. Risan keeps the mosaics from the Roman Era, created at the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd AD. In the centre of the mosaic there is the image of the God Hypnos, as the only image of this deity on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. Risan is one of the largest archaeological sites with us, especially the area opposite the Hotel Teuta, called “Carine”. In Risan, there is the Church of St. Peter and Paul’s, from the 18th century. In the vicinity of Risan there is Banja Monastery, constructed at the beginning of the 18th century, with rich collection of icons, the works of Risan Dimitrijević – Rafailović iconographic school. Not far from Risan there is Lipci, a settlement famous for prehistoric drawings painted onto the rock, showing stags moving from left to right. There are two rows of stags next to which there are several geometrical motifs. All the figures were made by gluing clay onto the rock face. These drawings date back to the Iron Age, around 800 BC.
