The Exhibition 'Croatian heritage sites on the World Heritage List'
The historic cities of Dubrovnik and of Split and the Plitvice Lakes National Park were,
rightly, the first Croatian heritage sites to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage
List. The year was 1979.
The complex architectural wholes, in their millennial duration and evolution, have
survived to the present day, bearing witness to the unsurpassable inspiration of ordinary
people and builders and their readiness to make their environment more safe and
useful, and, in the last analysis, better and more beautiful. In an organic sequence of
urban development over time, buildings were' erected in different styles, creating an
amalgam of seemingly disparate contents and forms that reflected the taste of the time
and changes in style, to embrace closer and more distant cultural or even political
influences.
Dubrovnik, closed in the symbolic and truly impressive force of its fortifications, was
open to the whole of the Mediterranean through its shipping and maritime trade,
absorbing particularly the western influences in architecture, from the Romanesque to
the Baroque styles.
Flexibility and readiness to accept everything that was new and modern can be seen in
other forms of art too, for instance, in the prompt acceptance of Renaissance literature,
brought to this part of the world from overseas centres of humanistic and Renaissance
thought, producing not just replicas but original and, in some genres, avant-garde
literature.
Emperor Diocletian, one of the great reformers of the late Roman Empire, erected a
palace near his native Salona. The palace became a town out of necessity when Salona
was destroyed by invaders and its inhabitants sought refuge within the walls of the
palace. The special characteristic of Split is the co-existence of the palace and, the town
and the continued presence of parts of the magnificent late Roman structure. At first, it
was adapted to accommodate its new inhabitants, and it was only much later, in the late
Middle Ages, that the palace was enriched with new buildings in the Romanesque,
Gothic and Renaissance styles, some of which more than stand up to the inherited
architecture. The historic nucleus, with Diocletian's palace at the centre, is the living
heart of Split, today one of the most dynamic Mediterranean cities. Not far from Split, at
the western most point of the bay, we find the ancient city of Trogir, whose name
reminds us of its Hellenistic roots. It was built as the first colony on the mainland of the
Greek settlers from the island of Vis (Issa) and in its museums and church treasuries the
memory of that origin is kept alive. The dense Romanesque urban tissue reflects old
Greek and Roman, planimetry, reaching its pinnacle in a number of residential, public
and religious buildings dating from the Middle Ages. Mention ought to be made of St.
Lawrence's Cathedra I and its fine Romanesque sculptures on the main portal, the work
of master Radovan. Gothic and Renaissance palaces, as well as the fortifications along
the rim of the town-islet harmoniously complement its historic appearance.
Towns often asserted their privileges by building cathedrals, especially in rivalry with
neighbouring towns. This is also true of Šibenik at the time of its social, political and
economic prosperity in the mid-fifteenth century.
Šibenik's cathedral is the work of an architect of genius - Juraj Dalmatinac - who
combines Late Gothic and the Early Renaissance styles, and of Nicholas of Florence,
architect and sculptor of the Tuscan Renaissance. The, work of the two masters
incorporated in the best possible way the metropolitan characteristics of great styles into
the rich heritage of the Dalmatian coast. Their innovative technical solutions in building
with stone became an important example of avant-garde architecture.
The complex of episcopal buildings in Poreč began to be built in the early decades of the
4th century, continuing to grow throughout the 5th and 6th centuries and culminating in
the building of the Euphrasian Basilica and the bishop's palace. The architectural
qualities, the degree of preservation of practically the whole complex, and particularly
the unsurpassable mosaics from all the stages of development, the finest of which adorn
the main apse of the basilica, make the complex a piece of art of the highest quality,
comparable to its contemporary in Ravenna.
The natural features of the Plitvice Lakes National Park are morphologically rich and
varied, monumental and picturesque enough to justify their entry onto the World I
Heritage List. Pristine nature rules supreme, while the human hand is tolerated only in
the service of its preservation. The area of the Lakes is the habitat of a variety of animal
and plant species, many of them endemic. Human intervention helped to create a
civilized landscape and built traditional style houses.
We hope that the exhibition to be presented at UNESCO's headquarters on 6 October
this year, commemorating the silver jubilee of the first Croatian heritage sites on the:
World Heritage List, will show in an attractive way what: Croatia has contributed to the
world heritage and what it has done to preserve it for future generations.
Miljenko Domijan
Head Conservator