If you ever find yourself lucky enough to need a notary public in Korčula, there are only two, one in Korčula and one in Blato, and a visit to one of them will give you an amazing insight into the history of the profession on the island. 

While it is, admittedly, not something most people would usually find fascinating, seeing the document displayed on the wall of Ivna Kaliman's Korčulan office really does paint a picture of a long, turbulent and amazing history of the island. 

The first mention of the notary public in Korčula in the old archives kept by the Dubrovnik municipality was as early as 1338! That was even before the Venetians took control of the island, in 1409, and the notary public service on the island was so well organized that even the control-freaking Venetians kept the organisation as they found it, including the statute of the municipality Korčula. That statute meant that the Venetians didn't have much of an influence on the selection of new notary public in Korčula, although in 1613 the law was put forth saying that the notary public is a public servant of the Venetian Republic, and that he holds a title "veneta auctoritate" (venetian authority). 

Some partially saved documents show that the Office of Notary Public in Korčula was active until 1797, when Venetian Republic fell apart, and during those centuries of almost independent service, several well-known families in Korčula kept their notary offices - inheriting the office from one generation to the other for many generations. Some of those families are Lettis, Azzali, Donadini, Rozanović, Mirošević, Španić, Arneri - you will recognize that some of those are Italian last names. 

During those years there were several locations where those offices were situated, near the municipal chamber, near the Cathedral, some of them had offices in Smokvica (!), Blato is also mentioned often in the history of notary public in Korčula. 

During the later history of Korčula, and the periods when French and the Austrians ruled Korčula, the offices of notary public were also part of their governments, and shared the fate with other dalmatian colleagues. Some of the same names already mentioned are listed in the documents in the 19th century, but some of the names that are currently still often seen or heard in Korčula are also becoming notaries: Vilović, Depolo etc. 

November 22, 2018 - Where are the best places to stay in Croatia? A tour of the luxury listings recommended by Relais & Chateaux, starting with Lesic Dimitri Palace on Korcula.

Croatian tourism is evolving, and one of the areas where great progress has been made over the last few years is the luxury sector. Mass tourism in the 1960s in former Yugoslavia gave way to an explosion of construction of concrete eyesores to meet the mass need, and many of these hotels still exist today on a 2 or 3-star level. But finding top-quality, luxury accommodation for high-spending guests who are looking for a hospitality experience to match Croatia's 5-star destination billing in terms of beauty, has proven to be not such an easy task. 

Things are changing slowly, however, and several top-quality luxury boutique hotels have appeared on the scene. While small in number, these hotels have proved to be enormously successful, addressing the needs of luxury tourists looking for that something extra. The well-respected Relais & Chateaus website shows just how rare they still are, however, with just four listings for Croatia on its global website. Let's meet them.

Few would argue that the top luxury hospitality hotel experience in southern Dalmatia is to be found on the island of Korcula at  Lesic Dimitri Palace. Apart from establishing a successful business, the arrival of Lesic Dimitri on Korcula a decade ago has done much to raise the level of quality of the tourism offer of its competitors. So much so that  Korcula can now rightly be regarded as an elite gourmet destination, whose strategy is to move its hotels to a minimum of four stars. No mass tourism here, just an island focused on nature, culture, heritage, gourmet and adventure tourism.

Here is what Relais has to say about Lesic:

"Hotel and restaurant on the seafront. People say that the Silk Road started from this island; Korčula has good reason to be proud to be home to Marco Polo's house, a stone’s throw from Lešić Dimitri Palace. The building's history dates back to the 17th century, when the Lešić family, rich property owners and merchants combined a number of semi-detached houses to create a palace worthy of that name. It has been meticulously renovated yet with a touch of contemporary design; its historical character and original layout have been retained and it now offers a small number of independent suites. Each evokes a step in Marco Polo's journey towards China, in a harmonious décor, with top-quality materials."

One of the things that fascinates me about walking through the stone towns of Croatia is that one has absolutely no concept of what is behind the walls of each building. And while the buildings may look reasonably similar on the outside, inside can take you to different worlds entirely. Nowhere is this truer that at Lesic Dimitri Palace - spacious journeys to India, Ceylon, Arabia, Venice and China - a true flavour of the Silk Road, just yards from the birthplace of Marco Polo.

I have never stayed at Lesic, but have been fortunate to have eaten there on several occasions. One thing that comes across very strongly is the passion and dedication of its staff, none more so that chef Marko Gajski, who clearly loves what he does and has found the perfect home to grow and innovate. Lesic Dimitri is also included in the 2018 Michelin Guide, one of two entries on the island (Konoba Mate in Pupnat is the other).  

More flavours from the East - an in-house massage service from Thailand.  

A top boutique hotel has its own luxury services for its guests - here is chef Marko again, on the hunt for sea urchins, just part of the luxury Lesic sailing experience. 

The man behind Lesic Dimitri is Michael Unsworth, a retired British financier who first came to Korcula about 50 years ago to visit a local girl he met in London. He ended up falling in love twice, and is not happily married to Masa, that same local girl, as well as in love with his beloved Korcula. Here is Michael, featured in a recent British Embassy video on what unites Croatia and the UK. 

To learn more about Lesic Dimitri, click here.  

To learn more about Korcula, why not check out our dedicated portal about the Marco Polo island?

Continuing our look at the wine town of Korčula through the eyes of the excellent Croatia Draga blog, a journey inland to the heart of Pošip, the island's most popular variety - welcome to Čara.

A nice new blog has appeared on the scene in Croatia, with a passion for wine. Part Two of the Croata Draga's tour of the vineyards of Korčula, after last week's visit to Lumbarda. 

"Čara (that’s “char-a”) is probably the best known of the three wine towns, perhaps owing something to the dramatic view from the road of the main vineyards, which carpet a valley between the town and the PZ Pošip co-op, pictured at top. Co-operatives were largely formed during the Communist period, when growers were required to take their fruit to the co-op aside from a little wine made at home for family. The large valley in front of the co-op is subdivided into many parcels, where some families grow various vegetables alongside their vines. There are still quite a few wine co-ops in Croatia, but in Dalmatia PZ Pošip stands out for solid-quality wines made from the white Pošip grape."

To read the full blog, visit Croatia Draga.

For more on wine in Croatia, why not check out our sister site, Total Croatia Wine? 

November 17, 2018 - Sweet Korčula, an island with a seemingly endless supply of fabulous traditional home-made cakes and desserts. We are very grateful to Franica Tasovac for allowing us to serialise her excellent books called Sweet Korcula, Sweeties of Korcula Grannies (in English). It is a collection of no less than 30 ancient recipes for Korcula cakes and desserts, lovingly put together into a book. A delightful souvenir or gift for gourmet friends. Franica has kindly allowed us to serialise the recipes on TCN, and we will be bringing you a recipe a week from the kitchens of Korcula's grandmothers throughout the year. You can read Claudia Tarle's lovely introduction here.

TORTA OD MINDOLITORTA OD MINDOLI
(Almonds Cake)


5 eggs 
150 g sugar
180 g almonds
lemon and orange zest
200 g marmalade
2 tablespoons water 


Put the almonds in the oven, about ten minutes at 170°C. Grind finely the cooled almonds. Mix egg whites into firm snow. Whisk yolks and sugar into a foam until the sugar dissolves. Gently stirring, add the lemon and orange zest and ground almonds. Stir all and pour into a mould lined with waxed paper.


Bake the cake in preheated oven at 150°C for an hour.


Mix marmalade and water thoroughly, and keep warm. Coat the baked and chilled cake with hot marmalade.

You can buy this booklet at:
Town library “ Ivan Vidali “
Flower shop “ Fiorino “
“ Manina “
“ Komo “
Tourist agency “ Kaleta “ 
Souvenir shop “ Suzy “
Bookshop “ Kutak knjiga “

 To connect with Sweet Korcula, why not follow them on Facebook?

This week's beach of the week on Total Korčula is Three Ports, not one beach, but a wonderful, beach-goer friendly set of coves near Vela Luka. 

It's name in Croatian is Tri Luke, but you'll also often hear the Italian name (appropriatelly similar to the English name) Tre Porte. It's a series of - and I know this is going to be hard to believe - of three coves, located several kilometres due South-West of Vela Luka, facing south and located in one of the most amazing wooded areas of Korčula Island.

The road to get to the Three Ports from Vela Luka is quite nice, easy to find (go towards Potirna and then it's really simple to find the Ports), and once you get to your destination, you shouldn't have too much problems finding a parking spot for your car, as the area is quite wide, there are houses and apartments in the ports and several smaller roads in the forest which accomodate parking - and in the shade. 

There are several smaller pebble beaches in each of the coves (and even hidden sandy gems!), and numerous rocky slabs around the coves where you can put your stuff and enjoy a bit more isolation, both in the sun or in the shade. If you're visiting for the first time, the best advice we can give you is to walk around a bit, explore the area, enjoy the different options, take a swim here or there before you decide where you want to spend most of your time. As we said already, there are several houses located in the area, and most of them are renting apartments, so if you want to keep away from busy Vela Luka, but still be close, maybe you can consider renting here. 

At almost any given time during summer, there will be boats, small or larger, docked in or just in front of the coves, as the water is perfectly clear and quite shallow there, there are several charming little islets in front of the Tre Porte, which are very intersting to the nautical tourists. Plus, there's a diving centre located in the area, so there will be divers - and you can also be one! 

There is only one konoba, restaurant called Škanja Rat is located very close to the coves, but works only in the afternoons (such was the situation last time I visited; I don't know if things have changed since, as there isn't much information about the place online), so you can have a drink and a meal there. 

 A new blog about living in Croatia, with more than a hint of wine. Meet Croatia Draga, and the first in a three-part series exploring the wine towns of Korčula.

"Going to Korčula to meet its winemakers requires a drive to one of the island’s three main wine towns: Lumbarda, Smokvica and Čara. (Although there are worthy wineries outside these towns, I didn’t visit them this trip.) From Korčula town, Lumbarda is the closest, just a 10-minute drive to the easternmost end of the island. The famous sandy vineyards there are centered on a narrow peninsula that is bracketed on the two coasts by town beaches and leads to a mostly wooded knob on the tip of the island. Driving past the small riva at the center of town, you are almost immediately in the vineyards. You reach a tiny roundabout occupied by a tiny church and can follow the one-lane road through vines that spread in every direction."

To read the full article, click here.

November 15, 2018 - There cannot be many businesses which start on Dalmatian islands like Korcula, then expand to exclusive locations like Verbier in Switzerland. 

Marco Polo may have been born on Korcula and gone travelling to exotic places, but he is not the only one to have moved from that gorgeous Dalmatian island with a tale of spice. 

Another Silk Road is slowly being constructed, this time starting in Korcula Town, as the popular Asian street food restaurant, Silk, is set to open its third location, this time in exotic Verbier in Switzerland. 

Silk, which takes its name from the famous Marco Polo route, first opened close to the house of the famous explorer's birth, in Korcula Town, before expanding to Split this summer, where it has been a popular addition to the Dalmatian capital's gourmet scene with locals, tourists and the growing expat community. Take a short video tour os Silk in Split below.

Silk is owned by the couple who have created one of Dalmatia's true hospitality gems, Tara's Lodge, which is located in Zrnovska Banja, just north of Korcula Town. They also have a base in Switzerland, which explains the choice of their third location. 

To learn more about the original Silk, click here. For the latest on the Verbier opening, follow Silk on Facebook. 

It is always nice to see a business thrive and grow and expand beyond Croatia's borders. Good luck to the Silk team, and feel free to open the next outlet in Varazdin... 

Products awarded the Croatian Island Product label are again being presented to the public in Zagreb, on the main square. It's become some sort of a tradition, with fairs where those products are sold and tasted taking place before Easter and Christmas in Zagreb for several years now. 

The fair has opened today, November 15th at the main square (Ban Jelačić square) in Zagreb, although the official opening ceremony will be held tomorrow morning (at 9:30 am), with participation of singers from Jezera on the island of Murter and Korčula's own Sv. Cecilija "klapa" (an 'a capella' vocal band). There are over 30 participants at the fair, coming from various islands: Korčula, Vis, Lastovo, Brač, Krk, Hvar, Pag, Prvić, Rab, Dugi otok, Ugljan, Iž, Rava, Cres and Pelješac peninsula. 

Of those from Korčula who have in the past years been awarded the Croatian Island Product label, several are participating at the fair. Cukarin is, od course, present in Zagreb, offering their "usual suspects", such as well-known klašuni, amarete etc., but also their korčulanska lojenica, for which they were just recently awarded the label. 

Škatula, also a well-known sweets shop from Korčula, presented their Karat, a spread made from carob, a perfect product for those who do not really appreciate chocolate, in addition to the wealth of their other products. 

Smokvun was also presented to the people of Zagreb, all of its creative varieties made an appearance. 

Sanja Protić and her products from her family farm in Blato were, of course, also present in Zagreb. In addition to her sweets (the most well-known one being traditional local blatska lumblija) and olive oils and other products, she also helped promote wines from Blato on her stand - and, as you can see in the photo below, she was in a good mood in while in Zagreb! 

As we've previously reported, the construction of the new docks at the Dominče ferry port have started earlier this autumn, and the main investor County Port Authority for Korčula took to their Facebook page to inform the interested public that the work is going along nicely, sharing with us some very interesting photos. 

The photos show the current situation on the construction site at Dominče, and we see that the excavations of the sea floor are currently taking place, which will allow for the docking of larger boats. What you can also see is how important the no-parking rule at the location of the works was, as on the photos you can see that some of the parking places have been almost completely destroyed by the excavations. 

It's interesting to see how such works are actually performed, with what appears to be a regular excavator sitting on the barge, which allows it to reach all the way to the bottom and get the excess soil out - which is then deposited on the other side of the ferry docks, where it will appearently be used for some other purpose. 

The project is divided into two phases, with the completion of the first phase planned for the end of this year. The second phase is supposed to be finished by the beginning of the next tourist season, when first boats are expected to be docked at the newly built docks at Dominče. Let's hope all works continue to proceed as planned! 

Korčula Online web site has posted a video, shot from a drone on Youtube: 

The feast of Saint Martin of Tours, patron saint of beggars, wool-weavers and tailors, geese, vintners and innkeepers, and France. It is celebrated throughout Central Europe on November 11th, which is said to have been the day of the saint's funeral. 

The celebrations of the feast of Saint Martin are especially rooted in the tradition of the Northern part of Croatia, where in Međimurje and Slavonija on this day the conversion of the must into wine is celebrated - by drinking, of course, a lot of wine. In Croatian language, the festivities are called Martinje. Nowhere else in Dalmatia is it given any similar significance as it is in Northern parts of Croatia - except on Korčula. 

While other places celebrate on the day itself, November 11th, on Korčula the celebration starts on St. Martin's Eve, in the evening of November 10th. That is when the children of Korčula will gather in groups and go singing around the town carrying the lanterns (called "feral" in Dalmatia) - not unlike the tradition of Christmas caroling around the world. There's even a special song, the so-called Martin's Song (celebrating, among other things, wine), sung by the children on the day, and for their efforts they are awarded by the townspeople with whatever they have for the little singers: fruit, cakes or even sometimes small amounts of cash.

On Saint Martin's eve for past several years, an event bringing together a capella singing groups from the island (so-called "klape") will also be held in Korčula. 

The cake that was traditionally made and eaten for the feast of Saint Martin is korčulanska lojenica, a traditional cake that has recently been saved from oblivion by Smiljana Matijaca of Cukarin fame, who brought it back to the tables of Korčula for the feast, and who has received the label of Croatian Island Product for the cake.

While it is somewhat similar to the other traditional cake made on the island (blatska lumblija), there are significant differences - lojenica contains suet (a form of mutton fat, used in recipes around the world, including the traditional Christmas pudding recipe in England), while blajska lumblija contains varenik, a sweet and thick sauce that one gets by boiling wine must. Lojenica also usually contains a more modest amount of aromas and spices, although the ones used are almost the same. 

Once the kids have gone around the town, sang their songs and gotten their presents, it's time for the adults to celebrate wine a bit more, so it goes without saying that most men of Korčula will be walking around with a headache on Saint Martin's day. And that will not make another one of the traditions for Saint Martin's day more pleasant: having lunch or dinner in larger groups on the day itself, and that meal often includes mutton (which we needed anyway to make lojenica). Most people of Korčula will have dinner in larger groups on the day, even if they don't live on the island anymore, if they have made wine that year, it will be tasted by their friends, lojenica will be had and the party will continue...