Names of The Island
As a Greek colony, the island was known as Pharos 'lighthouse'. The Greek poet Apollonius of Rhodes referred to the island as "Piteyeia" in the 3rd century BC, a name derived either from the Greek word "pitys", meaning spruce.
In the Roman province of Dalmatia, it was known as Pharia and later Fara.
In the early Middle Ages, Croats settled the island and named it Hvar, replacing the consonant "f" with old Croatian consonant "hv". But, the island was still ruled by the romanized Illyrians. The Croats' influence convinced the resident Roman population to once again change the official name to Quarra.
Since the late 11th century its Italian name has been Lesina; in Venetian, Liesena. The name remained official during Venetian rule. The Italian name has a Slavic origin - Lesna, meaning "wood" (the island having been heavily wooded).
Read more about this topic: Hvar
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