DUBROVNIK - KISADO

56 dubrovnik neretva county
dubrovnik neretva county
57
The folk tradition
Th e peopl e o f
Dubrovnik and
the surrounding
regions proudly
maintain their folk
tradition, which
you can still see at
festivals, folklore
per formances,
and processions
on feast days; in
m u s e u m s a n d
sometimes even
on your waiter in
rural restaurants.
Every region, and
in some cases
every settlement
had its own style
of folk attire, which
often showed the
social status of the wearer. So, for example, in Konavle,
where the tradition is perhaps strongest to this day,
unmarried girls wore red pillbox hats decorated with
gold braid, while married women wore stiffly starched
headscarves shaped like horns, to scare their menfolk
into submission, we presume.
The costumes, mainly in white, red and black fabrics, were
decorated with embroidery, particularly on decorative
fabric breastplates with gold silk tassels on women,
and waistcoats and cummerbunds on men. Silk was
produced and coloured at home. On special occasions,
people wore fine velvets and silks richly embroidered with
gold thread, a style influenced by Dubrovnik’s excellent
trading links with the nearby Ottoman Empire. Luxurious
clothes indicated the wealth of the owner, but rich folk
lent fine clothes to poorer neighbours to ensure a good
celebration.
Jewellery has for centuries been a way for women in
particular to invest their wealth. Dubrovnik at its zenith,
had many goldsmiths and silversmiths who, in addition
to adorning the city’s churches and palaces also made
jewellery, an integral part of folk costume. You can still buy
traditional earrings in gold or silver filigree, large hoops
or drop earrings adorned with baubles. If you’d like to
take home an original Dubrovnik souvenir, you can also
find tiny backstreet workshops where women produce
tablecloths, bags, purses, pictures, slippers and more
embellished with traditional embroidery.
On your travels around the region, you can meet many
more facets of folk culture. If you’re on Korčula island,
you may meet a procession of drummers in medieval
costume on their way to a performance of the traditional
Moreška sword dance (performed across the region in
high summer). And if you’re lucky enough to be on distant
Lastovo in the two days before Ash Wednesday, you’ll
see the Poklad festival, eagerly awaited every year by
the islanders, and a riot of fun, celebrating the salvation
of the island from attack by Catalan pirates in 1483.
The men dress in scarlet traditional costumes with
embroidered sashes and hats decked with more flowers
than Ladies Day at Ascot – a truly unique experience!
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Trsteno
Balm for the soul If you’re on the edge of your nerves and
even a stay in Dubrovnik brings no respite to your soul, it’s time
to go green, get back to nature and indulge in a spot of tree
hugging at Trsteno. It’s not only the terminally overworked
who will be delighted by this historic arboretum – of course, for
gardeners and plant lovers it’s unmissable. The centrepiece is
a summer villa first built by Dubrovnik nobleman Ivan Marinov
Gučetić in 1494. Rather than investing his wealth into a
sprawling and luxurious home, he built a more modest abode
and surrounded it with gardens in which his spirit could soar.
More than one hundred years later, his descendant Nikola
Vitov Gučetić composed humanist philosophical texts here.
Trsteno was thus created by a man with a vision and aided by
local sea captains who came home from their travels bearing
gifts of exotic specimens. Over the centuries, many people
have invested their energy and soul into these gardens. A
sense of gratitude to nature and water permeates – don’t
miss the baroque fountain at the foot of the stone aqueduct.
East of the villa lie a grape and olive press, once shared by
the local community. A little path leads from the villa to the
sea where a pavilion overlooking the water offers a view of
the true meaning of this place – botanical splendour on the
lush, island-strewn Mediterranean. In this part of the garden,
you can also see the oldest tree in the arboretum – a palm
almost 500 years old looking remarkably healthy. The
arboretum includes the original 15th century garden laid out
in renaissance style, with a geometric pattern of paths, a
chapel, the fountain and aqueduct. There is also a newer
garden (early 20th century) featuring formal and modern
sections, with features typical of the southern Adriatic, plus
a historic olive grove and natural woodland. Trsteno suffered
quite badly both from shelling and from a forest fire which
broke out in 2000, but Mother Nature has taken over and
it’s clearly business as usual. A walk amid the beautiful, tall
trees offers welcome dappled shade and the chance to enjoy
the harmony of man and nature.
The village of Trsteno is a modest little settlement with
a fine church, St Vitus, and two huge 500 year old Asiatic
plane trees. By the waterside just east of the gardens is a
remarkable but dilapidated fort, and a tiny harbour where a
stream cascades down rocks into the sea. Magical.
Olive oil
Olives have played a small but integral part in world history,
yet nobody ever really notices this. Think about it, winners
at the first Olympics were given an olive wreath to wear
on their heads, we extend an olive branch as a sign of
peace, and even Popeye’s lanky girlfriend was named
Olive Oil. The signs are clear, if olives are good enough
for athletic glory, peace, and a belligerent sailor, they’re
good enough for all of us.
By now we’ve all heard that olive oil is an integral part of
the “Mediterranean diet” which medicine has associated
with sensible portions and slower, more enjoyable
eating. Studies have shown that those who partake in
the “Mediterranean diet” to have a remarkable variety
of health benefits. It’s even suggested that olive oil
decreases the rate of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, it helps lower
dangerous blood cholesterol and is rich in vitamins and
antioxidants. How about that? A combination of olive oil
and a diet rich in vegetables and fish is healthy, delicious,
and satisfying!
The Adriatic coast has a centuries old tradition of olive
harvesting and processing to reap the benefits of olive oil.
From the northern coast to Dubrovnik and all the islands
included, olive trees dot the landscape throughout the
Croatian Adriatic. Olive oil today is still as important a
part of the diet in Dalmatia as it always was. And in spite
of some minor technological advances the process is
more or less the same.
Olives are picked from the end of October to the end of
the Christmas period, and there are a few of methods of
doing so. Some pickers hack away at branches, collecting
the whole thing and plucking olives off one by one later.
Other growers use a rake to bring down the olives, or
a more painstaking route is to pick individual goodies
Fun for the whole family
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straight from the tree. The results are collected in a box
called a Takalać, which the pickers later sift through to
sort out the fruit from the twigs and leaves.
After the harvest comes the pressing part. Literally. Back
in the day, the olives would be pressed on a stone wheel
turned either by hand or maybe beast of burden. The
olives would be set on a mat and put under the wheel,
squeezing them to a pulp as all the juicy goodness ran
out of them. Today, most olives are no longer pressed
by stone wheel, they’re drained using hydraulic presses.
The rest of the process is really no different from the old
school days. The first press yields the extra virgin oil, that
is the oil of the highest quality, which must be made from
green olives that are not too ripe. Subsequent pressing
of the pulp will get you more olive oil, but the quality isn’t
quite the same as the first.
Some homes on
the coast still use a
stone basin to hold
the oil, but usually
it’s placed in bottles
(glass is the best for
the oil) and stored
for the coming winter
and summer. Once
bottled, the oil has
a lifespan of about 2
years. A lot of locals
in Dalmatia sell their
oil to tourists, and
it’s good stuff. The
oil should have a
greenish tint and
strong aroma. A
liter usually costs
about 15 Euro, but
haggling can’t hurt.
Get there and buy some home made oil, all of you!
This text has been created to acquaint the public with
the olive growing tradition - it is not a scientific or expert
text.
Dubrovnik In Your Pocket
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Winter 2009 - Spring 2010