Vis (town)

Vis (Italian: Lissa) is a town on the eponymous island in the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia. Its population was 1,934 as of 2011. The town is the seat of the eponymous Vis municipality, one of the island's two municipalities (the other being Komiža). Both belong administratively to Split-Dalmatia County.

History

Vis, on the Illyrian coast, was established in the 4th century BCE as an Ancient Greek

The town of Vis is in a relatively large and protected bay (Croatian: Uvala Svetog Jurja,^[5] English: Bay of Saint George) on the island's northeast side, facing the island of Hvar and the Dalmatian mainland. The port of Vis is in the southwest part of the bay. The port is protected from the open sea's influence by the islet Host (named after William Hoste) and the peninsula Prirovo (sometimes spelled "Prilovo"). Other, smaller ports are in Kut^[6] and Stonca, which are also parts of the town of Vis.

Vis is separated from its hinterlands (Dračevo polje and Velo polje) by 250–300 m high hills which are important for local residents as the main source of income from viticulture. Other official parts of the town are villages on the bays of the south and southeast coast, such as Milna, Rukavac, Srebrna, Stiniva, Stončica, some of which show signs of developing into new towns. Besides Vis itself, these bays and villages are the island's main source of tourist income.

Climate

Vis experiences warm and temperate winters with warm to hot summers. The landward breeze makes it the most moderate climate in Croatia. The climate allows for tropical and Mediterranean vegetation, including palms, carobs, olives, grapes and lemons. The average rainfall is about 750 mm (29.5 in) per square meter. The island of Vis has a number of natural sources of drinking water from natural spring water reservoirs. It is also home to 12 distinct types of island vegetation. The World Organization for Environmental Protection has named Vis one of the 10 environmentally best-preserved islands in the Mediterranean.

Administration

The official area of the town of Vis is the entire eastern half of the island. The western half is under the authority of Komiža.

The town council consists of eleven councilors divided into three groups;^[when?] five from the SDP - HNS - HSS coalition, three from the Independent List of Ante Acalinović and three from the HDZ - HSP coalition. Ascendancy is currently held by HDZ - HSP coalition in alliance with the Independent List. The current city major is Ivo Radica.^[7]

Population

In the 2011 census, the Vis municipality was composed of the following

• Dračevo Polje, population 13
• Marinje Zemlje, population 63
• Milna, population 30
• Plisko Polje, population 19
• Podselje, population 19
• Podstražje, population 40
• Rogačić, population 12
• Rukavac, population 66
• Vis, population 1,672

Economy

Until the middle of the twentieth century, the main sources of income were vineyards and wine production.^[9] In recent times, more and more people have been working in tourism. The town is also famous for the greenery of its palms, the only example on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.

Notable residents

• Niko pl. Giaxa (Jakša) (1845–1905), first national major of Vis
• Ivan Farolfi (1892–1945), high-ranked official and former mayor;
• Vesna Parun (1922–2010), acclaimed Croatian poet who was born in Zlarin but spent her childhood in Vis;

Monuments and historical sites

• Remains of ancient Issa (thermae in the southern part of the town that were getting their water from a spring that used to be to the west of them,^[10] necropolis, theatre, parts of the port)
• Five
  Franciscan
  monastery on peninsula of Prirovo and Crkva Vele Gospe)
• Residences of Hvar and Vis noble families (Hektorović, Jakša, Gariboldi, Dojmi Delupis)
• War forts dating from various times (from the Republic of Venice to Austria-Hungary)
• British Military Cemetery (dating from the British presence during the 1810s)

The Church of Our Lady of Spilice was named after smaller semi-caves that were on the site where it was built. Construction began on the land donated by Frano de Pelegrinis at the very beginning of the 16th century. According to archive documentation, the church was still unfinished in 1521, and the builders had increased its dimensions during construction, evidenced in various styles over time: Gothic, Renaissance and baroque. Its oldest part, in the central area, was built in the first half of the 16th century and shows the transition from Gothic to Renaissance style. The main door has fluted doorjambs upon which two semi-capitals support the transom. Above the door is a simple, well-defined semicircular lunette adorned with pinions. The rounded window of the façade is of the Renaissance period, whilst an attenuate distaff with three bells is the highest in Dalmatia. The church's naves are entered through two baroque doors over which are double-winged pediments and above them rounded windows. The church's interior is divided by broad semicircular arches on masonry pillars into three naves. With this, the unity of the space was achieved, illuminated by the long, narrow windows of the Gothic exterior, of which some were transferred from the old walls which dated back to the 16th century. The posterior part of the church was also enlarged with a baroque shrine, the chapel of St. Vicko and a sacristy. The altar polyptych was created by the famous Venetian painter Girolamo da Santacroce.

The late baroque Church of St. Cyprian and Justina was built in 1742 in the eastern part of Vis, in the region known as Kut. Here, there was once a church built at the beginning of the 15th century, whose remains are still visible in the rear wing of today's church, with an immured opening of a Gothic window. A flat façade of the church shows late baroque decorations weaving with a number of gothic motifs - rounded and quatrefoil windows intertwine with baroque vaults on a triangular pediment. Seven small windows together with a niche inside which was the

The Church of St. George was built in the 9th century on a small peninsula situated at the entrance to the deep Vis bay. The Vis bay was named after it in the Middle Ages becoming the Port of St. George, there was also an islet at the entrance Škoj sv. Jurja (the cliff of St. George) as well as Jurjevo brdo (George's hill) to the east, and

The Church and monastery of St. Jerome was built on the small peninsula of Prirovo at the beginning of the 16th century. The church façade was made of marble taken from the adjacent ruins of ancient Issa, primarily from the

The Gariboldi Palace was built in 1552. At the beginning of the 16th century, Frane Gariboldi moved from

The Gazarović Palace was built by the well-known

The Renaissance and baroque one-story house of the Prdvarić family was built in the later 16th century and is situated at the part of Vis known as Kut, close to the

The Perasti tower, kaštil, was built of Vicko of

Our Lady's Battalion (Gospina batarija) is the main fortress built by the

. It is an original Greek cult statue made in either the late fourth or early third century BC. There is a considerable archaeological evidence testifying to the cult of Artemis in Issa.

Education

• Vis Primary school
• Until the 1960s secondary schools existed in the villages of Podselje, Podstražje and Marine Zemlje but these were eventually closed because of the lack of students due to drastic emigration that affected the island as a whole. In 1975 a secondary school named after Antun Matijašević - Karamaneo was built. It remains the sole centre of secondary education on the island.

Sports

• Cricket Club, named after Sir William Hoste, Bt.
• ŠRC Issa (sport and recreation club Issa)
• Bowling club Vis
• Football club Vis^[11]

Acknowledgements

Honorary citizens

• 1995: Giullio Einaudi
• 2001: Petar Stipetić
• 2005:
  Stipe Mesić
• 2011: Stanislav Selak

Source: Town of Vis official website^[12]

See also

• Croatia
• Vis (island)
• Dalmatia

References

1. Wikidata Q119585703
   .
2. ^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2021 Census". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
3. ^ An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen,2005,Index
4. ^ "tz-vis.h/Vis". Archived from the original on 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
5. ^ Dalmatia by Dmitar J. Culic. page 106
6. ^ Footprint Croatia by Jane Foster. page 258
7. ^ "Town Vis - Major". Town Vis. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
8. ^ "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Vis". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
9. ^ Migration and Population Decline in the Island of Vis, Croatia 1910-2001 by Ivo Nejasmic & Roko Misetic.page 116. The paper discusses the population dynamics of the island of Vis, Croatia and the geo-graphical, demographic and social characteristics linked to the process. Demographic sta-tistics and the results of the research show the substantial population decline of the island of Vis.
10. ^ Gabricevic, Branimir. Anticki Spomenici Otoka Visa (PDF) (in Czech). p. 25.
11. ^ "NK Vis". Croatian Football Federation. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
12. ^ Počasni građani [Honorary citizens] (in Croatian). gradvis.hr. Town of Vis. Access date 30 June 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vis.

• Official website (in Croatian)
• Vis Tourist Office Archived 2012-07-10 at the Wayback Machine

43°04′N 16°11′E / 43.067°N 16.183°E / 43.067; 16.183