Croatian Littoral - Culture

Culture

Since classical antiquity, the area around Kvarner Bay has been characterized as a meeting point of diverse cultures—from Hellenic and Roman cultures, through the Middle Ages and a succession of various rulers, to the present day. This blending is reflected in the folklore of the area, including Zvončari—bell-ringers best known for annual pageant in Kastav, listed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Crossbowmen from Rab are a living history company reenacting an arbalest tournament first held in 1364 to commemorate the successful defence of the island using that weapon. A typical decorative motif used in the region is morčić (plural: morčići)—a dark skinned Moor used as a centerpiece on jewelry, usually earrings. Legend has it that the motif is related to a hypothesized battle between Croatian and Ottoman armies on Grobnik north of Rijeka, but it is more likely that it is of Venetian origin, as it is similar to the Venetian moretti motif, used mostly on brooches and pins.

The earliest architectural heritage of the region includes ruins of Roman and Byzantine buildings throughout the area and early medieval Croatian burial grounds in the Vinodol area. There are preserved examples of the Romanesque architecture on the island of Krk, in Vinodol, and in the Kastav area—largely churches, monasteries, and fortifications such as Drivenik Castle. Several preserved examples of Gothic churches exist on the mainland, but during the Renaissance, construction largely consisted of fortifications because of the Ottoman conquest of the hinterland of the region. The most powerful noblemen in the region, the House of Zrinski and the House of Frankopan, built numerous castles in the area. They include the castles of Trsat, Grobnik, Bakar, Kraljevica, Ledenice, Bribir, Hreljin, Grižane, Novi Vinodolski, Krk, and Gradec near Vrbnik. The most representative piece of Baroque architecture is the St. Vitus Cathedral in Rijeka.

The region was birthplace or home to several writers who made their marks in Croatian, Italian, and Austrian literature. These include Ivan Mažuranić—one of the foremost authors of Croatian literature in the first half of the 19th century—Janko Polić Kamov, Ödön von Horváth, and many others. Chakavian dialect, spoken in the region, is widely present in the works of poets born or living in the region. The most significant artist from the region is Juraj Julije Klović (Italian: Giorgio Giulio Clovio)—a 16th century miniaturist, illuminator, and artist born in Grižane in Vinodol. 20th-century artists born or active in the region are Romolo Venucci, Jakov Smokvina, Vladimir Udatny, Antun Haller, Ivo Kalina, Vjekoslav Vojo Radoičić, and many others. Churches and monasteries in the region treasure a great number of works of art. These include a 1535 altar polyptych by Girolamo da Santacroce in the Franciscan monastery on Košljun island, while a Paolo Veneziano polyptych from Benedictine abbey in Jurandvor near Baška is in the collection of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Krk.