After spending the night anchored off Mljet, we sailed back up the Croatian coastline, almost all the way back to Split. Our destination was the town of Pucisca on the opposite side of the island of Brac to the town of Bol where we had called in on the first day of our cruise. In our notes on Pucisca issued at the start of the trip, the description of this town amounted to a rave review. “Nowhere in the system of towns and villages in Dalmatia does terrain play such a compelling role as in Pučišća with its spectacular irregularity of the steep-sided natural harbour, its authentic Mediterranean architecture and rustic ambience; the fjordlike inlet meets three narrow valleys that descends from the hills to join those quiet and beautiful waters.”
The comment above about the architecture of Pucisca was confirmed by the photograph, below right that I took as we arrived in town. Pucisca is often referred to as the prettiest town in Dalmatia and it is the white stone used in the building of the houses and public buildings that is the key element.
Above left is an overhead shot of Pucisca from a neighbouring mountain and the white area on the coastline at the entrance to the harbour is the reason behind the town’s white buildings. This is a white limestone quarry that was originally opened by the Romans. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the quarry was abandoned for almost a 1000 years before it reopened in 1455. Its most famous export is the stone quarried here and shipped to the USA to build the limestone columns of the White House in Washington D.C.
The building in the above photo to the right is of the stonemasonry school in Pucisca; the only one in Croatia. Our walk around town included a lengthy exploration of the work being done in this school. There were a lot of students carving both utilitarian pieces as well as artistic sculptures from Brac limestone in the dusty classrooms of this building.
We had a great walk around this harbour city in the afternoon after finishing with the stonemasonry school. Harbour views were great. We wandered past the church of St Jerome, the patron saint of the town. This church was built in 1566. The image on the right below is another view of St Jerome’s church from the other side of the harbour. The image on the left below is of the tower of Akvilla, one of the 13 towers built to protect the city and is included on Pucisca’s official coat of arms. There are four of these towers left and were built in the 15th century to resist attacks from Turkish forces intent on capturing the town. The largest attack was in 1571 and the town was successfully defended by its fortifications.
Like all the towns on our tour of the Dalmatian Coast, Pucisca was a lovely place. We enjoyed our afternoon as well as enjoying our evening meal, out and about in the town at night.
FOGTRAVEL 