Island Hvar ... is an island of vineyards, olive groves and lavender. The island is surrounded by crystal cobalt sea, many springs of water and has the largest number of sunny hours. Hvar is, no doubt, an exceptional island, a pleasant winter and summer resort, with a mild climate and exuberant subtropical vegetation. In spring, Hvar is full of scent of the awakening nature of pine trees, laurel, rosemary, lavender, palm trees and aloes.

Hvar belongs to the central group of the Adriatic islands and lies in the east-west direction. On the east Hvar is only 4.5 km away from the mainland, while on the west if faces open sea. It is the longest (68 km) of all Adriatic islands. Hvar is also the fourth largest in area (300 sq. m). The longitudinal road which links the town of Hvar with Sucuraj at the eastern end of the island is 84 km long. The flat part of the island between Stari Grad, Vrboska and Jelsa is famous for its vineyards.

You can travel to Hvar from Split, Drvenik, Ancona or Pescara by ferries or hydrofoils. There are regular daily routes to and from Split to Stari Grad by ferry that takes 1.45 min or by hydrofoils from Split to Hvar that takes 45 min. For ferry and hydrofoil schedules see www.jadrolinija.hr, There is also a possibility to rent a private speed boat from Split or take a small plane (Cesna type or the like) for three passengers and fly directly from Split airport to Hvar. The flight takes approximately fifteen minutes and the plane lands on the earth runaway near Stari Grad. This sports airport operates from May to November. For more info on transportation please refer to our section Getting There.

Length: 68 km
Width: 10,5 km
Surface: 299,7 km2
Length of the coast: 254,2 km
The highest peak: 628 m (St. Nicolas)

Zukova bay is right below villas

  Stari Grad ... has a variety of accommodation facilities (hotels, apartments, bungalows). Domestic specialities offered in the restaurants and wine cellars, especially seafood and famous Croatian wines, sports and recreational opportunities (tennis, basketball, football, boccia) including water sports (surfing, diving) attract many visitors to this corner of the Adriatic Sea, first discovered by the ancient Greeks. The summer months offer numerous cultural and sports events: the Summer of Stari Grad, concerts, recitals, shows. Stari Grad hosts the International Summer Music School in July and August. The first Sunday in September attracts many swimmers on the Faros Marathon, International Croatia Cup in long-distance swimming.

The flooded valley of the Bay of Stari Grad and Ravnice extends from the ridge peninsula on the northern side of the western part (Kabal, 125m) and the main mountain-range. At Kabal, which protects the Bay of Stari Grad, are the two coves (Tina and Zavala) mentioned by Hektorovic in his famous work "Fishing and Fishermen's Conversations". Small village Rudine (with parts Dulcici and Soljani) is situated at the beggining of Kabala and dates from the 15th c. Rudine is a pitoresque settlement 3 kilometers away from Starigrad. Every visitor can find here peaceful and quiet traditional houses, smell and hear the sea and feel away from the city crowd.

Open sea view from "Villas Male Rudine" land plot

  History of Stari Grad ... Stari Grad is the collective name for several small towns which grew and were later abandoned at the same place. The plan of the Greek Pharos, reconstructed hypothetically, resembles a Roman town-planning scheme with an orthogonal screen. Only the south eastern angle of the town has been archaeologically investigated. The remains of the ancient town walls have been presewed in the cellar of the house of Tadic Gromotorov, but they are also visible to the south of the early Christian complex of the double basilicas of Sts John and Mary (with the baptistery from the 5th/6th centuries) decorated with floor mosaics. Archaeologists have discovered the corner of the original Greek Pharos or lighthouse there.

The stereometry of the cleaned town walls, numerous remains of Illyrian, Greek and Roman settlements, as well as early Christian, early Croatian and Romanesque layers have confirmed what the archaeologists supposed for centuries - that the Pharos, in its stratigraphy, is probably the richest locality of our archaeological heritage, and that the whole island experienced an apogee at the end of ancient times.

Old stone houses in Male Rudine village

Roman inscriptions and reliefs on the Baroque bell-tower in front of the parish church and at the town square next to it, as well as the more recent secular and sacral inscriptions built on to the walls of various houses, confirm the importance of Stari Grad throughout history. The bust of Milo of Croton (the best known Greek athlete) with a club in his hands and the bull on his shoulders once stood in the square. Stari Grad experienced its second high point in the l8th century with the development of maritime trade and wine-growing.

Modern Croatian painters from Stari Grad include: Juraj Plancic, Bartol Petric, Jakov Bratanic, Juraj Dobrovic, Ivo Dulcic. Their works are exhibited in the mansion of the Croatian Revival entrepreneur, Juraj Bjankini, to the west of The Tvrdalj, together with some archaeological finds discovered at Pharos in the last twenty years. This is also the building where some intemational summer archaeological seminars take place.

The best-known building in Stari Grad is The Tvrdalj, the fortified building of the poet Petar Hektorovic.dating from the first half of the 16th century. It was renovated in the Baroque style in the 18th C. and partly restored in the 19th C. Hektorovic's Tvrdalj is an exceptional work of architecture which differs from similar buildings of his time, as does his long poem Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje (Fishing and Fishing Complaints) surpass any other literary textes in the Croatian language of the 16th century. In the centre of The Tvrdalj, there is a tower above the fish-pond. This pond was constantly stocked with grey mullet. He kept chicken on the ground floor enjoying the natural way of life. Lucija, the Tertiary Franciscan nun, daughter of one of his builders, lived on the first floor taking care of his household. An observation post ("repcar") and a dove cote were at the top of the tower.

Area around "Villas Male Rudine" from the air