The Cabinet of Curiosities

As Croatian historian Lovro Kunčević writes, „the concept of “liberty” (libertas, libertà) is one of the key motifs in the political tradition of old Dubrovnik“. Libertas, liberty, as a concept has been deeply rooted in both Dubrovnik’s history and the present. The inscription standing on the Lovrijenac fort „Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro“, which means „Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world“, has been the city’s motto for centuries. Not only was it a slogan and the most precious life value, but Libertas was also a principle the people of the old Dubrovnik lived by.

On January 27, 1416, the Republic of Dubrovnik prohibited slave trade, being among the first to do so. It took until the end of the century to put a stop on the practice of slavery, but nonetheless, it all happened some 400 years earlier than in the USA or UK.

The primary state flag of the Dubrovnik Republic depicted Saint Blaise. However, the secondary flag had LIBERTAS on it, emphasizing liberty as an integral, crucial pillar of the Dubrovnik Republic’s longevity.

Today, as a symbol of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival which runs more than 70 years, the Libertas flag is being raised every year in front of the church of St. Blaise on the opening ceremony.

The Coat of Arms of the Dubrovnik Republic has gone through several appearance changes over time. A definite turning point in Dubrovnik’s heraldic history took place in 1358, when the Venetians, after suffering a defeat, gave up Dubrovnik, among all, as part of the Treaty of Zadar concluded with the Hungarian-Croatian king Louis the Great.

Afterwards, the people of Dubrovnik concluded new treaty with their new sovereign, acquiring the protection of the Hungarian-Croatian ruling Arpadović dynasty and receiving the confirmation of all attributes of statehood of the Republic of Dubrovnik. What a great diplomatic move it was of the small commune that became a republic, forever free from the Venetian domination!

Furthermore, according to the treaty, the people of Dubrovnik had to use the coat of arms of the Arpadović dynasty, with 8 red and silver bars on the shield. However, they usually used it in a somewhat modified form, reversing the original layout and starting with a silver bar instead of a red one.

Later on, the coat of arms underwent further changes. Silver bars that were believed to represent rivers in Hungary, became blueish at the beginning of the 18^thc. Blue-red coat of arms are found on numerous documents issued by the Republic in the 18^thc. and at the beginning of the 19^thc.

There are no official explanations for this change, but it may be that due to the Republic’s tributary relationship with the Ottoman Empire, the Republic wanted to distance themselves from the allied ties with the Hungarian-Croatian crown that had just become the new Habsburg authority and thus they changed the colours of the state coat of arms.

„Konavle has for centuries been renowned for the production of silk yarn, where it was used for the decoration of male and notably female national costumes. The production occurred in the rooms of the women every spring. Every woman of Konavle had to rear enough silkworms to produce her own yarn for her individual embroidery. Until marriage, she would produce enough embroidery for various occasions and circumstances, for a long time it would be her only accessory and identity card.

Every embroidery has a unique language that describes its tailor, her cunning, wealth or hardship, and when she makes it a part of her costume it becomes part of her personality. The Konavle embroidery is worn around the chest and the sleeves, where jewelry is worn today, and on the part of our body where we point with our finger when a person says „I”. The Konavle embroidery is an important part of the national costume of a small region and it has developed its own artistic language transforming into something more than simple decoration.“
Source: https://www.antoniaruskovic.com/en/silk-embroidery-of-konavle

The embroidery exhibited in our cabinet is an original piece made by the academic painter Antonia Rusković Radonić, who collects historic pieces of Konavle national costumes and studies the production techniques of historic Konavle. She lives and works in Konavle.

The oyster farming in the Dubrovnik region is a centuries-old tradition. According to the archaeological findings, the Bistrina Bay, in Mali Ston channel, is believed to be known for its oysters since the Roman times. Even before the Romans, there is evidence that the Illyrians enjoyed these delicacies.

The Dubrovnik Republic government, which bought Ston in 1333 from the Bosnian ban, recognized the value of the shellfish cultivation in the Ston region, and put it under its authority. The oysters and a bottle of Malvasia were special delicacies that the Dubrovnik officials would welcome the Bosnian pashas and foreign delegates with. The Mali Ston oysters also found their way to Vienna, Prague and Paris.

At the beginning of the 18^th c., the oyster farming almost collapsed. The Dubrovnik government realized they had to react promptly, so they protected it by law, ordering two more families to preserve oysters in the Bistrina Bay and allowing the harvest exclusively from October until May, in order to protect the most sensitive period of the reproductive cycle. The time would show that the Senate’s measures saved oyster farming from complete disaster.

In 1936, the Ston oyster received the “Grand Prix” and a golden medal at the international exhibition in London.

Today, Mali Ston oysters are highly esteemed delicacy, having received European Union’s protected designation of origin and protected geographical indication. They are protected throughout the European Union, which guarantees its authenticity.

Take the opportunity, go on a road trip with us and taste the best of Mali Ston Bay.

Marin Držić (1508 – 1567) was a great Renaissance Croatian poet, playwright, author of political texts and actor born in Dubrovnik. Due to his invaluable literary legacy, Držić is also called “the Croatian Shakespeare”. Truth be told, Marin Držić is the forerunner of Shakespeare, his comedies are among the best in European Renaissance literature. Full of liveliness, his pieces celebrate love, liberty and sincerity, while mocking avarice, egoism and dramatizing the troubles of evil and antisocial characters.

The most famous Držić’s piece is Dundo Maroje, which was also played in international theatres. His great pastoral Grižula, a shepherd play, actually announced the structure of Shakespeare’s famous comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Držić lived in Venice and Florence, died and was buried in Venice, in the Saints John and Paul Basilica.

Marin Držić is one of the most prominent Croatian writers and one of the most important authors of European Renaissance comedy.

Dubrovnik holds a museum The House of Marin Držić where you can learn more about this great personality. One of the avenues in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, bears his name.

Cvijeta Zuzorić or Flora Zuzori (in Italian), a poet, was born in Dubrovnik around 1552. Cvijeta moved to Ancona, Italy, with her father, where she got her high education and where she spent plenty of time with artists.

When she was 18, she married a Florentine nobleman. Since her husband was given a consul position in Dubrovnik, they moved back to her hometown where they lived until 1583. She wrote poems in Croatian and Italian, as well as composed epigrams, but, unfortunately, none was found.

Cvijeta captured attention with her red hair, her beauty and exceptional education. She loved gathering artists in her house, where they held scientific discussions and art talks. Quite a few poets, charmed by her beauty and intelligence, wrote poems in her honour.

Many people in Dubrovnik criticized her and were jealous of her free spirit. Cvijeta was firmly defended from slander by her best friend, Marija Gundulić Gučetić, the first feminist in Dubrovnik, who sharply criticized the attitude of the people of Dubrovnik, supporting all the other women as well.

Being born on the Pelješac Peninsula, Mato Celestin Medović (1857 – 1920), a famous Croatian painter, grew up in a large hardworking peasant family.

At first, he studied to become a priest in the Franciscan Monastery of the Friars Minor in Dubrovnik. However, noticing his talent, the general of the Franciscan order invited him to Rome to study painting.

As written in Croatian encyclopedia, “he painted scenes with historical and religious themes, genre-scenes…, still life and portraits, but he was the first to notice the value of the coastal landscape and nurtured it as an independent painting genre, paving the way for modern Croatian landscape painting”.

The guests at Palace Natali can enjoy the beauty of the two tapestries inspired by his paintings (in the reception area and in saloča Pilo (the ground floor living room).

Vlaho Bukovac (1855 – 1922) was one of the most significant Croatian painters, the originator and main representative of Croatian modernity.

The path of Vlaho Bukovac to become one of the most prominent Croatian painters was rather difficult. At an early age, he went overseas, to the USA, with his uncle. After his uncle suddenly died, Vlaho was put in the reform school for juvenile, where he was left all alone. After finishing school, he returned home and at the age of 15, he embarked on his first voyage as a sailor.

Later he went from Peru to San Franscisco searching for better life, and back home. His first distinguished works were done while he was in the USA for the second time. Finally, a stroke of luck hit him – one of the most significant Croatian personalities of the 19^thc., bishop Strossmayer, saw his talent and sent him to Paris to study art, where Bukovac established himself as a renowned painter.

Vlaho Bukovac was able to convey so clearly the atmosphere of the moment, his paintings are lively, bursting with energy.

Bukovac created in Zagreb, Prague and Paris, and in England as well. The last, almost 20, years of his life, he spent in Prague as the academy professor, longing for his hometown by the end of his life.

He left behind an oeuvre of four hundred portraits and over a hundred other paintings. His work is characterized by depicting family portraits, cycles of acts and the genre of scenes, including sacred themes sometimes.

One of his great compositions is the Croatian national revival which found its place on the curtain of the Croatian National Theatre, showing a group of distinguished Croatian personalities.

Luka Sorkočević (1734 – 1789) was a Croatian composer and a diplomat of the Dubrovnik Republic, coming from the renown Dubrovnik patrician family Sorkočević. Luka studied music in Dubrovnik and Rome.

Being a member of the reputable patrician family in the Dubrovnik Republic, Sorkočević was the state official and a diplomat, thus he engaged in composing as an amateur. But still, as an amateur, he could compete with his European contemporaries.

Sorkočević was the first Croatian composer of symphonies. Luka performed his symphonies at the family palace or summer residence just as it was usually done at that time. Private concerts were usually held at summer residences, in the salon. All of his autographs and manuscripts of compositions are stored in the Franciscan Monastery of the Friars Minor in Dubrovnik.

Unfortunately, the last years of his life were not kind to him. Due to kidney disease and major depression, Sorkočević took his own life by throwing himself through the window of his house (today’s Bishop’s Palace, opposite to the cathedral). He was buried in the Franciscan church in Dubrovnik.

The art school in Dubrovnik bears his name.