Croatia 5 - Sibenik
The napkin was hold like a Christmas tree!
I had classic eggs Benedict. They were pretty good. J's dish was white polenta. It looked nice but he wasn't fully happy with it unfortunately.
Soon after we started exploring the Old Town of Sibenik, we arrived at the Cathedral of St James, the most significant Renaissance monument in Croatia. Built between 1431 and 1536, it is the only European cathedral constructed entirely of stone, including the stone slabs and ribs of the dome, with no binding mortar or wooden elements. Such an interlocking system is often referred to as an early form of LEGO.
It was in the early morning. We were visiting the Cathedral later.
The Cathedral occupied the main town square, also known as the Square of the Republic of Croatia as did the two-storied municipal loggia, a leading example of 16th-century secular Renaissance architecture.
The Church of St. Barbara, built in Gothic style around 1447, features a distinctive 24-hour clock using old-style Roman numerals on its facade.
There was an antique-like lantern on the pink building. It was interesting to know that Sibenik became the world's first city with a fully integrated AC electric street-lighting system on August 28, 1895.
A very narrow building was over there. What would the room layout look like...
Situated on a steep hill, the Old Town of Sibenik was like a vertical maze of narrow and winding stone alleys and steps, packed with old stone buildings, primarily from the 15th and 16th centuries, reflecting its peak under Venetian rule. It looked very adorable. In fact, Sibenik was my favorite of all the Dalmatian towns we visited during the trip.
We found out that Sibenik was a cat town. We ran into many, including this one.
I didn't know whether the cat was following us or we happened to be on his (or her) way...
Originally built in the 14th century, the Church of St. Julian has a complicated history, housing both a Serbian Orthodox Church and an Old Catholic Church in the past. The next to the church was a 150-year-old white mulberry, the oldest tree in the Old Town.
A moss fountain in front of the Church of Our Lady was found right outside of the Old Town.
Sibenik has three historical fortresses. We walked up to St. John's Fortress, the highest and largest land fortress. It was built in just about two months in 1646 to defend against the Ottomans.
St. John's Fortress was seen up there. We had to go higher...
We arrived at the entrance of St. John's Fort! However, we didn't go inside because we got wonderful views at the platform in front of the entrance. St. Michael's Fortress, the oldest of three, was seen down there, positioning on a steep hill above the Old Town.
Eventually we reached St. Anne cemetery, situated right next to St. Michael's Fortress. The peaceful place shared the beautiful water and town views with us. There was no need for us to go to the Fortress anymore to find a good view.
We continued exploring the Old Town. The sun rose higher and the stone town became brighter by then.
The church density seemed high there. Hidden among buildings, the Church of the Holy Spirit was a 17th century church in Renaissance style.
Nearby was another church - the Church of St. Ivan, built in the 15th century in Gothic and Renaissance style.
Finally we were seeing the inside of the Cathedral of St. James!
The triple-nave building with three apses and a dome. All stone-made.
The Baptistery was considered a masterpiece of 15th-century art, blending Late Gothic and Early Renaissance styles. It was designed and created by Juraj Dalmatinac, also known as "George the Dalmatian," the famous Croatian sculptor and architect. Born in Zadar (we visited there next day), he was invited from Venice, where he became an established stonemason, to Sibenik in 1441 to manage a cathedral project.
The ticket for the cathedral included a visit to the Interpretation Centre of St James Cathedral 'Civitas sacra.' It was located a couple of minutes walk away from the cathedral. We visited there right after our visit to the cathedral while our memory was still fresh. The exhibition was informative and interesting.
It was time for lunch. Like other coastal towns we visited, many restaurants were closed in Sibenik. Within the limited options, we chose Mlin Montanari to try. On the site of a former 19th century steam mill on the waterfront, the restaurant serves traditional regional dishes as well as homemade bread and pasta, preserving the mill tradition. The dining area was bright. There wasn't other customers at that time. We had the place all to ourselves!
We ordered two dishes to share. One was Pašticada od junecih obraza (beef cheek stew) with homemade gnocchi. It tasted wonderful!
The other was Škartoc - sea bass filet, clams, prawns, zucchini, carrots, cherry tomatoes, garlic and homemade pasta, folded in parchment paper and baked. The dish was also delightful.
The restaurant was near the cathedral. We walked up there to admire the beauty of the stone architecture one more time.
There was a statue in the square in front of the cathedral's west gate. We had walked through the square several times in the morning but I hadn't known the statue depicted Juraj Dalmatinac until I learned so by watching a video in the Interpretation Centre of St James Cathedral.
The cathedral's north portal, the Lion Gate as well as the line of over 70 stone heads emerging from the exterior wall were also works of Dalmatinac.
We didn't have a dessert at the restaurant, did we? We headed to the pastry shop/cafe we visited a day before.
My cake was a little Christmas tree filled with pistachio mousse and raspberry jam. J's was Magnifica - walnut cream with fig. We had a lovely tea time indeed.
More walk in the Old Town. There were still alleys and steps we hadn't been. Friendly furry creatures were approaching us. I guess they thought we had treats for them...
Meanwhile, the town was turning orange in the sunset.
To be continued...
