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Dubrovnik Summer Houses
life of the city. They were used all year round, and very often
became the centre of a family’s social life rather than
a place of quiet retreat. These second homes were rarely
showy or palatial – outward extravagance was considered
bad form among Dubrovnik nobles – but they did offer
both the luxury of space, and access to the outdoors. They
were frequently located near to the family’s fruit orchards,
vineyards and olive groves, so had an economic role as well
as a purely relaxational one.
There were certain conventions governing the shape of
these villas. They usually took an L-shaped form, with a
main building comprising central hall surrounded by four
rooms, and an annex leading down the a waterfront boat
house. Within the villa’s walls would be a garden divided up
into box-hedge quadrants, with pergolas to enable shaded
strolling, and possibly a fishpond connected by a small
channel to the seafront outside.
The sixteenth-century explosion of second homes led to
changes in lifestyle and culture. It was at these villas that
people would meet to talk about the latest developments
in business affairs or the arts, or attend parties at which
music or plays would be performed. The villas themselves
were frequently decorated with artworks and surrounded
by gardens, which only served to enhance their cultural
symbolism. Indeed it would not be unfair to say that Dubrovnik’s
cultural and scientific life took place in the villas
outside the walls rather than inside the city itself.
According to leading expert on villa architecture Nada
Grujić, the whole experience of the Renaissance in this part
of Croatia was shaped by the villa lifestyle. “Thanks to these
villas a particular form of socializing occurs, in mutual conversations
and debates”, she wrote in 1991. “In reading and
discussing art a specific way of thinking was formed, along
with our Renaissance literature, philosophy and culture.”
It is impossible to imagine that Renaissance noble Nikola
Gučetić could have written his dialogues On Beauty and On
Love (1581) anywhere else than at his villa at Trsteno, where
the philosophical conversations described in his texts probably
took place.
Given the many violent ruptures in Dubrovnik’s history (notably
the earthquake of 1667, or the destruction wrought
by the Franco-Russian War of 1807), it’s perhaps surprising
that so many of the city’s Renaissance villas have survived.
Few of the original villa-owning families are still around.
Many of Dubrovnik’s aristocratic houses fell on hard times
in the nineteenth century and were forced to sell up their
historic properties – frequently to returning economic
migrants who had made their fortune in South America.
Another watershed occurred after 1945, when many of the
big houses were nationalized and shared out among public
institutions.
Dubrovnik’s Renaissance villas are still an important feature
of the landscape, although they are often hidden behind
high walls and palm trees, or edged into anonymity by
16 Dubrovnik In Your Pocket
neighbouring modern buildings. Several villas line the waterfront
of Gruž harbour, with yet more to be found along
the shores of the Rijeka Dubrovačka - the sea inlet spanned
by the Franjo Tuđman suspension bridge just to the west
of Gruž.
None of these villas are currently open to the public on a
walk-in basis, although tours taking in several prominent
houses can be arranged through local tourist agencies. One
of the villas you will be taken to is the Sorkočević villa on the
southern side of Gruž harbour, which now belongs to the
Dubrovnik Historical Institute. Surrounded by a high crenellated
wall, the villa looks a bit like a castle – although it belongs
to an era when Dubrovnik’s borders were expanding
and there was no longer any real fear of sea-borne invaders.
It was built in 1521 by Petar Sorkočević, who served four
times as rector of the city, and whose family had grown rich
on the proceeds of the Balkan silver-mining trade. Inside
is a small museum collection relating to the history of Dubrovnik
and a lovely old library. The villa’s chapel contains a
15th-century statue of Dubrovnik’s patron St Blaise, carved
the by prolific Dalmatian stonemason Juraj Dalmatinac, architect
of the UNESCO-listed Šibenik Cathedral.
One other villa that regularly opens its doors to organized
tours is the Bunić-Kaboga Villa, located at the southeastern
end of the Rijeka Dubrovačka. Recently restore to its Gothic-Renaissance
glory by descendants of the original family,
this colonnaded mansion is frequently used as a venue for
conferences and social events. The Villa Stay, next door to
the Bunić-Kaboga house, has been home to the Dubrovnik
Restoration Institute since 1998, and will also open its doors
to visitors on a pre-arranged tour.
One place that anyone can stop off at is the Sorkočević villa,
now serving as the administrative building of the ACI Marina
at the Rijeka Dubrovačka’s northern end. Although you
can’t visit the interior of the villa, it’s an undoubtedly beautiful
spot, with the bobbing boats of the marina overlooked
by a ring of stony hills. The villa’s garden, with its geometric
box-hedge layout, is a popular venue for wedding photographs,
and if you come here on a Saturday you’re almost
certain to see a bride and groom posing beneath the pergola.
Carry on around the curve of the Rijeka Dubrovačka inlet
and you will come to Mokošica, where modern tower
blocks dwarf a handful of ruined villas, including the
Gucetić Villa, famous for its arcaded Gothic-Renaissance façade.
Although restoration work is still in its early stages, the
villa has been earmarked as the future site of the Mokošica
Cultural Centre – a welcome sign that Dubrovnik’s once
great villa culture has not yet breathed its last.
To find out more about tours of Dubrovnik’s Renaissance
summer houses contact the Dubrovnik tourist office, or
drop a line to registered tour guide Branka Franičević
(brankaf@du.t-com.hr) who will be glad to offer a tailormade
tour.
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