Hvar
Hvar has the reputation of being the flashiest of the Croatian islands, home to trendy nightclubs and the international jet-set. But the pace slows considerably by mid-September. The crowds disappear, and the atmosphere becomes much more laid back. As a result, we were able to spend a relaxing morning wandering through the medieval squares, alleyways, and churches of Hvar, which extend back from one of the most beautiful harbors in the Adriatic.
Our first stop on the guided walk through the town was the 15th century Franciscan monastery, on a headland adjacent to the main dock. Our Hvar guides proudly showed us the most celebrated artwork in the monastery, a nearly life size depiction of the Last Supper which covers an entire wall of the refectory, illuminated by natural light streaming in from the sea. It is believed that the painting, which is notable for its skillful use of perspective, was commissioned especially for this space.
Our guides explained that there has been considerable debate about the authorship of the painting, which was evidently done in the late 16th or early 17th century, shortly after much of Hvar was burned down in a devastating raid mounted by Ottoman corsairs led by the pirate Uluch Ali. It has long been assumed that the painter is named Matthew, or Matteo, since he appears to depict himself as a beggar in the place normally assigned to the Apostle Matthew.
Scholars now believe that the Hvar Last Supper is most likely the work of a Dalmatian artist named Matteo Ponzzoni-Pancun, from the island of Rab, who studied in Venice in the late 16th century. According to local legend, the artist painted the work in gratitude to the monks who gave him shelter after he was evicted from a ship because he was believed to be suffering from a particularly contagious disease.
Another fascinating item in the Franciscan monastery is the prow of a Venetian galley that participated in the Battle of Lepanto of 1571, the climactic naval encounter between the forces of Christendom and Islam. Half a dozen ships from Hvar joined the Christian forces led by Don Juan of Spain for the battle, which took place only a month after Uluch Ali's raid on Hvar in August that year. We will be traveling past the site of the battle at the end of our trip, as we sail into the Gulf of Corinth from the Ionian Sea.
After the visit to the monastery, we wandered along the harbor front to the main square of Hvar, between the 16th century St Stephen's Cathedral and the Venetian arsenal. Our guides explained that the Venetian noblemen lived in palaces on one side of the square, while the common people lived in more crowded streets behind the arsenal, which houses the oldest theater in Europe.
We spent the rest of the morning wandering by ourselves round the old town of Hvar. Some of us bought samples of lavender, for which Hvar is justly famous, before we all headed back to the Panorama on board Zodiacs for lunch.
In the afternoon, we set sail to the island of Vis for swimming and kayaking, a refreshing end to the first day of our voyage.
