ZAGREB, 7 Sept, 2021 - Three more Croatian restaurants have been added to the prestigious Michelin restaurant guide, bringing the total number of Croatian restaurants with one star to ten, the Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) announced on Tuesday following notification from Michelin.

The three new restaurants that have been awarded a single Michelin star are Nebo in Rijeka (housed in the Costabella Hilton Hotel), Alfred Keller in Mali Lošinj and Agli Amici in Rovinj. They joined the seven restaurants that have retained their stars - Boškinac in Novalja, LD Terrace in Korčula, Pelegrini in Šibenik, 360º in Dubrovnik, Monte in Rovinj, Noel in Zagrebu and Draga di Lovrana in Lovran.

In addition, seven more restaurants have been awarded the special Bib Gourmand designation for their remarkable menus at affordable prices. There are now 13 restaurants in Croatia with this designation.

The new Bib Gourmand restaurants are Konoba Mate (Korčula), Dunav (Ilok), Konoba Fetivi (Split), Izakaya by Time (Zagreb), Vuglec Breg (Krapina), Konoba Malo Selo (Buje) and Alla Beccaccia (Valbandon).

All the restaurants are listed in the new edition of the Michelin guide for Croatia for 2021. Another novelty in the new edition is the Michelin Green Star designation, which has been awarded to the Zinfandel's restaurant, housed in the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, to acknowledge its commitment to sustainable and environmentally-friendly gastronomy.

Commenting on the news from Michelin, Tourism and Sport Minister Nikolina Brnjac said that enjoying food and drink is an important part of the tourist experience, adding that Croatia, as a country with a rich gastronomic tradition, should invest more in its promotion and development in the future. 

HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić said that the award of new Michelin designations is a huge success for the Croatian gastronomic scene and very important for the country's tourist industry, considering various restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

For more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 7 Sept, 2021 - Two-thirds of young people surveyed in Croatia (61%) opened a profile on social networks before they turned 13, a UNICEF survey shows, warning that young people leave their mobile phone numbers and photographs online without any control.

Even though profiles on social networks are not allowed for children under the age of 13, 5% of respondents opened a profile when they were aged 7 or 8 and 16% had one at age 9 or 10, UNICEF warned after conducting the survey in collaboration with the HURA market communications NGO.

The survey was conducted among 1,092 children and young people, showing that children opened profiles on social networks at a very young age and that they left their mobile phone numbers and photographs online without any obstacles, so they can access free online content such as music or videos.

One-fifth of the children surveyed said that they had noticed inappropriate ads for adults on social networks and websites, including pornography and explicit photographs, as well as adds for alcohol, cigarettes, gambling and so on.

A significant number gave their mobile phone number (35%) or photographs (18%). The survey also showed that more than one-third of those surveyed (37%) didn't know what the role of cookies was on social networks.

When it comes to influencers, the majority of those surveyed (88%) said that influencers did not impact their purchases.

UNICEF has issued recommendations for responsible digital marketing and advertising towards children, including the need to protect the personal data of children and young people and to develop media and digital literacy among children and parents.

Children must not be exposed to ads for food with high fat, sugar and salt content or to ads for alcohol, tobacco, lotteries, medication, aesthetic operations while influencer promoted products on digital media always have to be advertised in a clear manner for children, UNICEF underscored.

For more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 3, 2021 - The KUF Festival 2021 is the third edition of a Cultural Street Festival that brings the circus to the streets of Zagreb. Organised by the Cirkorama collective, you can enjoy the crazy acrobatics, hilarious performances, and more in the following September weekends.

The Cirkorama collective has been known in Croatia for years for promoting the art of circus through various types of education, shows, street performances, and projects. There will certainly be a lot to do while juggling all the events in Zagreb over the September weekends to come.

These events will all be part of the KUF-Cultural Street Festival, which is now in its third edition, and will bring street art performances to all parts of Zagreb, starting this weekend (September 4-5) in Sopot. After that, it will follow with performances in the neighbourhoods of Vrbik (September 11-12), Mažuranac (September 12), Borongaj (September 18-19) and concluding in Vrapče (September 18-19). This is an excellent way to continue on the same path after Zagreb's handful of events in August. 

''The Cultural Street Festival is dedicated to street performances, local artists, and the local population. Its goal is to present the art of urban street culture and circus art throughout Zagreb's neighbourhoods. Therefore, the festival this year, just like in the previous ones, will travel to the city's neighbourhoods providing its residents circus-like street shows for all ages,'' said the festival organisers in a press release.

On a mission to enrich the City of Zagreb with cultural content, the ease of hitting the right street to enjoy the show is paired well with ticket-free entertainment.

The founders of Cirkorama are indeed pioneers of circus arts in Croatia, as they were the first to bring juggling and stilt walking to Croatian cities. These forms of entertainment on the streets were soon followed by acrobatics on silk and much more.

Projects promoting the modern circus with partners such as the Red Cross were aces for Cirkorama to show that the joys of the circus aren't only limited to specific locations and inside tents. With circus shenanigans being much more enjoyable than Zagreb's usual traffic accidents, head over to the designated areas to enjoy it this month.

What better way to get hyped for September than by checking out the bit of action in this video:

Learn more about Cirkorama on their Youtube page, featuring performances and a serious discussion on the art of circus.

Learn more about Zagreb on our TC page.

For more about culture in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 2, 2021 - Štrudlafest 2021 lifts the bar of the already known Croatian strudel festival in Jaškovo village near Karlovac. More sport, more workshops, and obviously, more strudel.

With the pandemic dying down just enough for events to be allowed to be held (while still respecting the current epidemiological measures) Štrudlafest in Jaškovo village near Karlovac is back! With the motto: ''It can't get sweeter than this,'' the event spanning September 3-5 is promising a delicious and unique combo of gastronomy, sport, culture, art, and lots of entertainment for all ages.

''Štrudlafest is a true paradise for strudel lovers because apart from the delicious tastes of homemade strudel you can purchase from dozens of stands of hard-working domestic manufacturers - strudel is everywhere around you. You'll have the chance to enjoy a picnic in the shade next to the water source, but also enjoy creative workshops where you can decorate your own strudle plate,'' said the organisation when speaking about this Croatian strudel festival.

Due to the current epidemiological measures in place, many events require prior reservations, but with so many events finally taking place once again, there's no reason to be sad if you miss a few of them.

For instance, there is Art Apetit, a painting workshop, and for those who want to dive deep into the secrets of making the perfect strudel, official ambassadors of this much loved product will be able to consult with you to ensure total satisfaction.

Marica, a strudle Ambassador © Štrudlafest promo

For the youngest among us, the series of sport, gastronomy, or creative workshop activities will be topped off by a visit from the most famous Croatian fairy tale author, Ivana Brlić Mažuranić.

With a lot of talking done about strudel and sport, the traditional cycling tour ''Štrudla by Bike'' will also take place, and in addition to pedaling your way to the breath-taking scenery of continental Croatia, you can also take a scenic trip along the Dobra river with the first-ever ''Štrudla by Boat''.

The organisers point out that in addition to Jaškovo, strudels can be sampled across Karlovac County with special discounts, and various museums in the region also have special gifts for their visitors to honour this popular treat.

Learn more about Karlovac on our TC page.

For more about food in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 28, 2021 - The METMONIC Project aims to update and make the Croatian weather measuring network more efficient by 2023, providing many benefits for the country.

With the Croatian economy relying heavily on tourism and given that sunny days on the coast outshine the cultural and heritage offer of the country, meteorology, the science of predicting the weather, is vital during tourist season. But it is also vital for traffic, agriculture, and many more, so good weather measuring infrastructure is always a good investment.

In that light, the "Modernisation of the National Weather Observation Network in Croatia", also known as METMONIC, is a valuable project.

As explained by the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ), METMONIC has a goal of establishing a modern and high-quality system of automatic surface meteorological stations, meteorological-oceanographic buoys, and remote measurement systems, including meteorological radars.

„In total, 450 modern automatic meteorological systems will provide traceable, reliable, high quality, and timely information on the state of the atmosphere and the sea throughout the territory of the Republic of Croatia. This will allow continuous monitoring of weather, climate, and climate change and will improve early-warnings of hazardous weather in order to support adaptation systems to climate change and natural disasters, thus providing direct support to sustainable development, increasing security, and preserving human lives and goods“, says DHMZ.

They add that upon reviewing the current meteorological network, they have recognized a need to increase the availability of measured climate variables and the analyses of climate conditions for „the needs of different economic branches and public activities“. Croatian national documents, such as the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Environment and Energy from 2017 - 2019 (MZOE, 2016), Sixth National Communication, and First Biennial Report of the Republic of Croatia under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (NN 18/2014), as well as the Law on National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NN 56/13), also recognized the issues that METMONIC can fix.

Development of human, technical, and scientific capacities, improvement of early warnings to severe weather and natural disasters, developing products tailored to users' needs to achieve sustainable development, and increased international exchange of information are the end-product of the project.

„Current and archived data will be publicly available on the DHMZ website and will serve research institutions, non-governmental organizations, and interested users, especially in the research related to climate change and its impact on vulnerable sectors“, promises DHMZ.

METMONIC started in October 2017, and it is predicted to be completed by June 30, 2023. The project's total estimated value is €45.251.908,75 and is led by Stjepan Ivatek-Šahdan and his deputy, Vesna Đuričić.

From the first weather station in Hvar to the current network of warning systems, forecast models, and laboratories, the METMONIC will hopefully bring further development to the respected, exciting, and challenging scientific field of meteorology.

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about science in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Aug 27, 2021 -The Women and Technology Program aims to raise awareness of women's contribution to science and technology through a virtual exhibition for the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum.

Established in 1995, the Centre for Women’s Studies in Zagreb is the first non-institutional educational center in Croatia.

Founded by a group of feminists, theorists, scholars, peace activists, and artists, the goal is to provide an interdisciplinary program and expert knowledge on women’s issues, becoming a meeting point for academic discourse, artistic practice, activist engagement, and more.

One example of this non-institutional research and education is the project „Women and technology – Towards the Gender Inclusive Museum“which encourages young people (under 25) to engage in the promotion of the gender-inclusive approach at the museum. Cultural and artistic content, as well as active participation on webinars, have a goal of allowing young people to co-create virtual museum displays with respect to a gender-inclusive approach.

The Nikola Tesla Technical Museum (TMNT) is the partner of the program, as the participants are creating a virtual display for this particular Zagreb museum. The project, as the museum informs, will last until March 2022.

„The project is focused on reinterpreting displays that will acknowledge women's contribution to science and technology and open new perspectives and curator practices. It is important to enroll young people in the process to raise awareness of the need, as well as the possibility of changing the dominating narrative. To do this, they need basic knowledge and skills on museology, design, and art," says the Centre for Women’s Studies in Zagreb website.

The website adds that the question of gender inclusiveness has become more and more relevant in museum practices. Last year's edition of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) magazine, which deals with research, conservation, continuation, and communication to society of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible, made „Gender and Museums“ the main topic. With ICOM's panel of experts prescribing professional and ethical standards for museum activities on an international level, the topic is an agenda for any museum that wants to uphold its reputation to address.

The virtual display will be connected to the current, physical one of the TMNT's, with QR codes being the connecting point. Webinars and workshops, apart from teaching skills to make the virtual display, will also provide historical education on the women contributing to science and technology.

Marking International Women's Day 2021, TCN earlier this year published an article on Croatia's most influential women. In addition, as women's rights in Croatia, as well as in the world, still face challenges (which includes the USA), American-Croatian psychology professor specialized in women issues, Mala Matacin, gave an interview to TCN referring to the issues women face in Croatia and the US.

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about Croatian history, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 26, 2021 - The Croatian Broadcast Exhibition hosted by Zagreb's Nikola Tesla Technical Museum (TMNT) offers visitors a chance to learn more about the rich history of radio and television in Croatia which led to the diverse multimedia world of today.

Named after the famous scientist Nikola Tesla, the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum (TMNT) continues to showcase the history of invention and technology. Since June, all the way  up to October 12, the Museum has been and will continue to host an exhibition called ''Transmitter and connections – 95 years of broadcast in Croatia'', authored by TMNT's curator Goran Rajič. Marking 95 years of radio and 65 years of television in the country, the display is supported by Transmitters and Connections d.o.o.

''There is no doubt that broadcast, embodied in two iconic phenomena – radio and television, marked the 20th century and made way for today's dominance of multimedia, evident in the overall networking and convergion of communication technologies,'' reads the TMNT website.

They added that radio and television made significant contributions to society, from building democracy and pluralism to being symbols of mass consumer and pop culture.

''With a selection of representative objects from the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum and objects used in Transmitters and Connections d.o.o., we're paying tribute to the significant anniversary of broadcasting on Croatian soil, as well as the almost century-long effort of Croatian work and intellectual efforts in its quality,'' explained the TMNT website.

This selection includes various radio and television transmitters, televisions and radios used in Croatia, also accompanied by photos of the most significant locations across the country where transmitters are situated. In addition, the exhibition presents visitors with data that provides less known facts on the size and branching of the transmitters, as well as on the challenges of maintaining the broadcast network.

TMNT also reminds its readers that the first radio transmission in Croatia was achieved on May 15, 1926, by the hard work of the Radio Club Zagreb, and was produced by the German Telefunken company from Berlin. The same date, but this time in 1956, saw the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the radio on modern Croatian territory. Antennas placed on Sljeme, Medvednica's mountain top, saw the very first television broadcast. The most recent technological advancement in the Croatian broadcasting world was seen in 2017 when 16 radio stations started broadcasting on a digital signal.

Learn more about Croatian inventions & discoveries: from Tesla to Rimac on our TC page.

For more about Croatian history, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 20, 2021 - The Iron Age Danube Route is a new addition to the Croatian offer, relevant not just for tourism but for science, research, and education, and recognised by the European Council.

The Iron Age Danube Route addresses one of the most fragile, though imposing and attractive prehistoric archaeological phenomena, the Iron Age landscapes. Characterised by monumental structures, such as burial mound cemeteries, flat cemeteries, fortified hilltop settlements, and oppida, as well as elements indicating the complex organisation of space, Iron Age landscapes belong to the period between the 9th and the end of the 1st century BC, according to the official website of the Iron Age Danube Route Association (IADR).

This association was founded back in July 2020 with the goal of enhancing international scientific cooperation regarding the period of the Iron Age, as this is a period marked by an extraordinary corpus of movable and intangible heritage. The focus on the Danube region is, among other things, owing to this heritage being housed in numerous museums across the Danube region, including the most important regional and national institutions.

''Compiling the existing sources of knowledge and creating a strong interdisciplinary and international network of expert institutions from Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia in the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage protection, tourism, as well as local stakeholders, the Iron Age Danube Route Association was founded in July 2020 with the aim of the further development and management of the IADR,''

The Archaeological Museum in Zagreb is one of the founding partners of the association, and other institutions from Croatia include the Centre for Prehistoric Research, Kaptol County, Papuk Nature Park, and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb. Other partners include museums and faculties from Hungary, Austria, and Slovenia, all bringing their top experts in the field to the table for the association to work.

And that work paid off. As reported by the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb's website, the European Council granted the culture route certificate to the Iron Age Danube Route which stretches through Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, and Slovenia.

''This is the first culture route of The European Council with its headquarters in Croatia“, said the Museum's website adding that the route is managed by the Association.

''The Iron Age Danube Route matched the criteria by the five priority fields of action by the European Council. These include cooperation in research and development, the progression of European heritage and history, educational exchanges, youth culture, engagement within the frame of the current cultural and artistic practices and sustainable cultural tourism development,'' explained the website.

The certificate is important as it enhances the overall visibility of the sight, allowing the public to become better informed about the area, and enriching the overall Croatian cultural and tourist offer, creating new opportunities both for business and for scientific and educational purposes.

Did you know Vukovar is located along the Danube river? Learn more in our TC guide.

For more about Croatian history, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Aug 20, 2021 - Have you ever seen the hit Croatian Invasion video? Watch it now and meet the hilarious Grotesco comedy group from Sweden!

Being a small country, Croatia has wanted global recognition since its beginning. This doesn't just refer to the political recognitions and diplomatic relations, but also to make its way into global pop culture. And, of course, hoping it will be in pop culture in a good way, not the Borat way like the country of Kazakhstan.

Back in 2011, the animated American sitcom „Ugly Americans“ (that follow a New York full of demons, zombies, and other magical creatures) made the news in Croatian media with a short clip of one of the characters eating a dead body and saying „My first Croatian, oh it tastes like Serb. “

As evident by comments, while some laughed at the edgy adult humor, many also expressed their dissatisfaction in 24 Sata's comment section, feeling insulted by the clip.

Because America is America, almost anything published there travels globally as media content, but the same can't be said for some other countries.

One such example is Sweden, where back in 2007, the „Croatian Invasion“ sketch was released by the comedy group Grotesco. 

Check it out for yourselves.

To be frank, watching the video stunned me before I laughed through tears, although I really had no clue what the video was about. A quick internet search only informed me that Grotesco is a comedy group and that there is no music album to buy from them. But what was the message of the video? How popular is it in Sweden? 

In the tradition of Croatians and other Balkan people going to European countries to work and live, Sweden is one of the many preferred destinations.

Early work of the popular comedy group

Vladan Laušević came to Sweden in 2003 as a teen from Bosnia and is today based in Stockholm, mostly working as a social entrepreneur. In 2017, he started writing as a columnist for a social and cultural magazine, Opulens, and his main responsibility later became taking care of the English section Opulens Global. He is also active in Croatian media, occasionally writing for Liberal.hr.

It was in an article Laušević wrote for Liberal.hr about Cuba that revealed one of his contacts sent him the „Croatian Invasion“ video, as comedian Michael Lindgren's experiences in Cuba was the focus of the piece Laušević wanted to present to the Croatian public. „I was not familiar with the video before, but I recognized comedian Michael Lindgren and his humor collective Grotesco. When I moved from Bosnia to Sweden in the early 2000s, I started watching television also to learn Swedish and often was able to see Grotesco since they are a very famous comedy collective“, explained Laušević.

He added that during the 2000s, ads for Absolut Music compact disks (CDs) were viral, so he saw Croatian Invasion as a parody of those ads.

„Also, one must keep in mind that Lindgren and his alter ego Dj Trexx are making fun of Eastern European stereotypes and former communist countries. For me, it was funny to see that "Croatian Invasion" was like a predecessor of Dj Trexx's later videos, such as about Russia and the former Soviet sphere, “Laušević pointed out.  

DJ Trexx (Michael Lindgren) in the middle of the performance, screenshot / SVT

Humour in Sweden is well developed on many levels, from stand-up comedy and beyond. Referring to the comedy scene in Sweden, Laušević revealed that the Grotesco collective is mainly based on political parodies. For example, how Sweden dealt with the refugee crisis in 2016 or in real-life situations such as how parents behave during a school meeting. 

„So when it comes to the video itself, it is more special because Dj Trexx was specialized in making parodies on stereotypes and cliches about Eastern and former communist Europe. I would not be surprised if Lindgren used to listen to techno music and watch videos from Croatia in the mid-2000s to develop his humor agenda“, concluded Laušević.

He isn't sure how popular or famous the video was during the late 2000s, but today Laušević saw that the video had been mentioned in different chat platforms and forums as one of Dj Trexx's early works. 

When it comes to the impact on the impressions of Swedish people about Croatia, the video isn't the trigger for any particular opinions about the country.

„I have only received a few questions about the video from people I know and who are older and remember it from the 2000s, and our discussions were mostly based on cliches and stereotypes regarding former communist countries. I have mostly seen and heard positive stories and experiences from my contacts and others when having spontaneous conversations about Croatia. It mostly has to do with tourism and the seaside because many Swedes love to go to Croatia during summertime. Older generations had positive experiences from vacations when Croatia was a part of Yugoslavia, while younger ones have more experiences with modern Croatia“, described Laušević.

Improvised writing and pure fun

Thanks to Laušević's well-established Swedish contacts, Michael Lindgren, aka Dj Trexx of the Grotesco collective, recalled for TCN how the video was made.

„The original idea for Croatian Invasion was just to let our prejudices about the Eastern European electronic scene run wild. No deeper thoughts. My colleague and I were improvising while writing; I think we were quite drunk“, said Lindgren. „The video was a skit in the first season of our sketch comedy show Grotesco in 2007. The overall reception was good, although it was kind of a cult hit. Our broad breakthrough in Sweden was in 2009 when we made the entertainment part of the Swedish Eurovision competition Melodifestivalen“.

While at the start, DJ Trexx was Croatian, he later turned Russian. Humourous provocation (see the song "Tingaliin") and artistic experimenting lead to the change of the character that continues to explore social solidarity and liberal freedom.

Performance of Tingaliin a parody of Eastern Europe stereotypes at Melodifestivalen 2009, screenshot / SVT

„Trexx evolved from Croatian Invasion. He became defined as Russian-East-German when we did Tingaliin in 2009 (because Russia was hosting Eurovision that year). I think he reflects a part of me that I wanted to experiment with all alter egos. He was born in East Berlin “behind the wall” (son to a red army officer and a German concert violinist), but he loved western electronic techno. Maybe I liked that story because I was a Swede struggling with the ideas of socialist solidarity and safety vs. liberal freedom. Trexx also loves the idea of a free united Europe“, described Lindgren.

Stating how he doesn't know any Swedish-Croatians personally, Lindgren's general impression is good with no particular prejudice.

„Croatian Invasion was just pure fun, not really meant to say anything intellectually - maybe a love-hate tribute to our prejudices about the newly liberated Eastern European techno scene around the 2000s. Also based on the eclectic and, through Scandinavian eyes, over the top and sometimes bizarre acts in Eurovision from the previous Eastern bloc“, concluded Lindgren.

In the end, he hopes he will have a chance to visit Croatia someday, and with Swedes having a positive experience in the country, it would be awesome for the Swedish celebrity to also enjoy the country and perhaps even visit some of the many electronic music festivals Croatia has to offer. Particularly on Pag's Zrće beach.

Learn more about various Croatian destinations on our TC page.

For more about Croatia-Sweden relations, follow TCN's dedicated page.

August 14, 2021 - Meet Croatian poet Hanibal Lucić, one of the most respected poets from the country's renaissance period and a noble man from the island of Hvar. This is his story.

The richness of Croatia's heritage is evident not only in its many breathtaking buildings, statues and sights but also in its literature. Sadly, Croatian literature doesn't attract as much global attention as it should when compared to the global impact and various language translations that names such as Shakespeare enjoy. Not to mention antic Greek poets and writers, Italian authors such as Dante, and the list goes on.

Things are changing for iconic writers from Croatian history, such as 20th-century writer Miroslav Krleža as well as many of the modern, still active writers, thanks to the Croatian Literature site powered by the Croatian Ministry of Culture.

Prose writing doesn't have too many challenges for a professional translator when it comes to shifting the story from its original language to another, but you can be sure poetry is another story. If you read an English translation of ''The Flowers of Evil“ by Charles Baudelaire, instead of the original French version, did you really read Baudelaire or an author who made an adaptation of the poem into English in as much as was possible?

Either way, not much work done by Croatian poets is widely translated and known globally, but the Croatian poets themselves are known, and their former residences venues carrying their names and statues dedicated to them are part of the cultural offer Croatian destinations have to offer to their visitors.

In Hvar town, not too far from Veneranda, where the former church and famous former Hvar weather station lies, you can find a bust of a bearded man facing the Adriatic sea, and his eyes look as if they have that filter of lyricism, that poet-style introspect in observing the world. That should come as no surprise as the portrayed citizen of Hvar is non-other than Croatian poet, Hanibal Lucić, a nobleman from Hvar.

The exact date of his birth in 1485 isn't clear, but his date of death, December 14, 1553, is well recorded. The Croatian poet Hanibal Lucić was a renaissance poet as well as a playwright who authored the first secular Croatian drama titled ''Robinja'' (the slave woman). He served the Hvar Municipality back in the time when it was part of the Venetian Republic as a judge and a lawyer. His writings feature the Croatian Čakavski dialect (which distinctly uses the word ča for ''what''), and he wrote love poetry under the heavy influence of the legendary love poet Francesco Petrarca. Lucić was notoriously self-critical, and he even burned his work. Thankfully, his son saved his work and it was published in 1556, after his death.

Hanibal Lucić bust © Nina Lelas

In 2012, the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) posted an article in memory of Lucić, stating that he was the greatest writer of Croatian Renaissance poetry.

''We can gather from his literary works that he was exceptionally well-acquainted with classical literature, the Croatian Glagolitic and oral tradition, and the contemporary Italian and Croatian writing of his time. In his poetry, Lucić celebrated his love for women and for female beauty. In their aesthetic quality, Lucić’s poems represent a true masterpiece of Croatian renaissance lyric poetry. He describes beauty and love in the tradition of Petrarch, at the same time drawing on the oral tradition of Croatian love poetry,'' wrote NSK.

His poem „Jur ni Jedna na svit vila“ (No Other Nymph Upon This Earth), one of Lucić's most well-known poems, is an obligatory poem to read in the Croatian education system. You can learn more in this English version of a science paper by Tomislav Bodgan.

Portrait of Hanibal Lucić © National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK)

On Hvar, his summer residence still stands, and it's open to tourists to visit as its now the headquarters of the Hvar Museum.

''His summer house, the headquarters of the Hvar Museum, is a well-preserved example of the country houses of the Renaissance period, but with clear Gothic influences. Included in the museum is a reception room dedicated to the memory of Hanibal. The museum is also home to the local branch of the Croatian state archives. The opening hours are as follows: 09:00 -13:00 and 17:00 – 23:00 in summer, 10:00 – 12:00 in winter (by appointment),'' wrote Paul Bradbury for Hvar's dedicated Total Croatia page.

So, when in Hvar, do find time to visit the house but also don't forget to visit his bust and seek one of his pick-up lines that can help your banter with that pretty girl on the beach.

Learn more about Hvar on our TC page.

For more about Croatian history, follow TCN's dedicated page.