By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

We are at anchor offshore of Dubrovnik,  no longer facing invasions by the Ostrogoths, the Ottomans,  Napoleon, Italy, Germany, Serbia…and others who have come here before.

Today, the invaders are tourists–some of them armed and dangerous with Selfie sticks, which had to be one of the silliest inventions of all time.

Silver Cloud at anchor off Dubrovnik today

We were most recently here just last week on our way north to Venice. I wrote about Dubrovnik in my post of May 3.

By the 15th and 16th centuries, the thalassocracy of Ragusa—its empire at sea rather than on land—rivaled that of the Republic of Venice and other Italian maritime republics.

For much of that time Ragusa had to walk a fine line, avoiding conflict with Venice and the Ottomans.

The Republic of Ragusa was a relatively advanced state for much of its existence. A medical service was introduced in 1301. Its first pharmacy opened in 1317 and still exists.

Other institutions of the time included an almshouse, a quarantine hospital (Lazarete), and an orphanage. Ragusa instituted Roman-style town planning rules, and a 20 kilometer (12 mile) water supply system was constructed in 1436.

Through it all, the Republic of Ragusa grew its wealth through trade by land and sea. The city had a huge fleet of merchant ships (an argosy) that travelled all over the world. The Ragusans established settlements as far away as India.

Ultimately, Ragusa served as the agent of the Ottomans in the Adriatric and a counter to the Venetians. But the collapse of both powers left Ragusa isolated and vulnerable.

Dubrovnik’s most beloved church is the Baroque Saint Blaise’s Church, built about 1714.

The main altar holds a polyptych by Titian, portraying a version of the Assumption of the Virgin, probably dating from 1552; the side altars hold paintings of later centuries.

The Cathedral treasury holds 200 relics from the 11th to 18th centuries; chiefly, the gold-plated arm, leg and skull of Saint Blaise and what is said to be a relic of the True Cross.

Another interesting church is Saint Ignatius of Loyola, completed in 1725 and modeled after the church of the same name in Rome. Ignatius was the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.

The Church of Saint Ignatius

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

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Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

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Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

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By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Dubrovnik has lived in danger for most of its existence.

Centuries of political and trade conflict with much-larger powers, a massive earthquake, and a war in the 1990s that still echoes in the ears of some.

But Dubrovnik has one other distinction, and not a happy one.

It was added to the UNESCO list in 1979 and scarcely a dozen years later many of its priceless treasures of humanity were under siege and bombardment.

Today, Dubrovnik is nearly recovered, and one of the most popular tourist lures of the Dalmatian Coast.

The prosperity of Dubrovnik has been linked to the maritime trade for nearly all of its existence. Today, they trade mostly in tourists.

These days we know the place by its Croatian name. But the Italians reach back to an older name of Ragusa, which is based on the Roman settlement of Ragusium, and in turn the Greek port of Ragousa.

The Republic of Ragusa existed into the Middle Ages.

On the other side of the Adriatic and in the Mediterranean in Italy there were similar seafaring and trading city-states in places like Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice.

The city reached its peak of power in the 15th and 16th centuries.

We’re due to return to Dubrovnik on the next cruise, and I’ll have more photos and commentary in my blog entry for May 9.

Text and images copyright 2016 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

George Bernard Shaw visited Dubrovnik in 1929 and said: “If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik.”

As I noted in my blog entry when we visited earlier this month, on June 6, this has not always been a heavenly place. It has been a place of war and unrest for most of its existence, its most recent time of battle in 1991.

The Walls of Dubrovnik run almost 2 kilometers or 1.5 miles around the city.

The stone walls have been in place since the city’s founding prior to the 7th century as a Byzantine castrum.

There was near-continuous expansions and improvements through the Middle Ages and as late as the 17^th century, and they were never breached by an army throughout that period.

DUBROVNIK 30 JUNE 2015

The Cathedral of Dubrovnik and its treasury.

Text and images copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Dubrovnik has lived with danger for most of its existence.

Centuries of political and trade conflict with much-larger powers, a massive earthquake, and a war in the 1990s whose effects can still be seen.

What remains and has been restored is a sight to be seen, now one of the most popular places to visit in the growing tourist allure of Croatia.

Photos by Corey Sandler

We know the place today by its Croation name of Dubrovnik. The Italians reach back to an older name of Ragusa, which is based on the Roman settlement of Ragusium, and in turn the Greek port of Ragousa.

In the Middle Ages, the Republic of Ragusa was an important economic and political power, in the era of similar city-states like Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice.

By the 15th and 16th centuries, its thalassocracy–its empire at sea rather than on land—rivaled that of the Republic of Venice.

Text and images copyright 2015 by Corey Sandler. All rights reserved. If you would like to purchase a high-resolution image, please contact me.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS

————-

Now available, the revised Second Edition of “Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession” by Corey Sandler, for the Amazon Kindle. You can read the book on a Kindle device, or in a Kindle App on your computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you would like to purchase an autographed copy, please see the tab on this page, “HOW TO ORDER A PHOTO OR AUTOGRAPHED BOOK”

Here’s where to order an electronic copy for immediate delivery:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA9QTBM

Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession: The Tragic Legacy of the New World’s Least Understood Explorer (Kindle Edition)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF ONE OF MY BOOKS,  PLEASE CONTACT ME.

SEE THE “How to Order a Photo or Autographed Book” TAB ON THIS PAGE FOR INSTRUCTIONS