Trogir or clothes hanging between Venetian palaces
Before leaving for Hvar, it is worth visiting the island of Trogir, an example of coexistence between tourists, hanging clothes and stone with history . Trogir is the island of 700 steps. It is located 28 kilometers west of Split and its villa was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. This small island redoubt with an orthogonal floor plan that you can walk through in a heartbeat is one of the best preserved Romanesque-Gothic complexes in the Adriatic and from all over Central Europe. In a span of land there are Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches and palaces.
Trogir, linked to the mainland by a bridge, **has more available beds (20,000, between hotels, apartments and villas) than inhabitants (less than 15,000)**. In medieval times, it was protected by the fortress of Kamerlengo at the western end. The fortress of Venetian origin is still in place, but it is unable to repel the siege of the hordes of tourists that summer after summer invade the island.
THE EROTICS OF ADAM AND EVE
An unavoidable appointment is the splendorous Cathedral of San Lorenzo, where the labyrinth of narrow streets ends . The Romanesque portico was carved in 1240 with the narrative care of a nineteenth-century novelist by the great master Radovan. These are two large sculptures of half-naked Adam and Eve as in Eden, causing it to be covered up until the 14th century. In the same square of the cathedral rise the old Cipiko palace, in Venetian Gothic style, and the loggia topped by a bell tower from 1471 , which served as a court, as well as a provisional prison and a theater, as in the cities of the Italian Renaissance.
The view from the bell tower of Trogir
AN EXTRA: ART IN THE STREETS
To approach Trogir in summer from neighboring Split, you have to get up early . That is the only way to avoid traffic and get there without traffic jams. That's the drawback. The benefit is that throughout the season street festivals follow one another, which include classical music concerts, plays, exhibitions in the Modern gallery and traditional festivals such as the Night of the fishermen (more info here ).
JOURNEY NOTEBOOK
- How to get. From Spain, the best option to reach Hvar is via Split, the splendid Croatian city that dazzled Emperor Diocletian. Croatia Airlines flies via Zagreb between Barcelona and Split since spring. Vueling will link the two cities between June and September. Except for last minute changes, Air Nostrum will fly from Madrid to Split in July and August.
- Practical data. Croatian telephone prefix: 00385. Tourist office in Madrid. Tourist office in Split: visitsplit.com. Citizens with Spanish nationality can travel to Croatia with a valid DNI. Currency: 1 euro is exchanged for 7.5 kunas Croats approx. Mediterranean climate, the trip is recommended between the months of April and October , although in July and August the influx is very high.
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The narrow stone streets of Trogir