My parents are from the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Back then it was still part of Yugoslavia and Italy. Most of you have heard of the coastal town of Dubrovnik, especially after learning that the TV show Game of Thrones was filmed there. My parents are from an island north of that. The coastal town closest to them is Zadar, which is 350 km northwest of Dubrovnik. You can see them on the adjacent Google map.
Zadar is the oldest continuously occupied city in Croatia. It was a Roman town in 59 BC and has changed hands between many empires since. But in 1920, the Treaty of Rapallo gave Zadar to the Kingdom of Italy. Before World War II, you needed a VISA to travel from the island of Dugi Otok (my parents’ island) to Zadar because they were controlled by different countries.
There were a few Croatian coastal cities under Italian rule before World War II. Rijeka, Istria, Šibenik and Zadar. Others may have been as well.
Both of my parents have memories of Zadar being under Italian rule.
Once the Treaty gave Zadar to Italy, they were no longer able to get their supplies out of there. Dad’s grandfather had to smuggle flour out of Zadar. Eventually, things opened up but not before great-granddad had an unfortunate accident.
He hit stormy weather while being chased by the police in his little boat. I’ve been on a boat on that water during a storm. It is scary – but exciting as a kid. The boat I was on was big though. I can just picture the low dark clouds rumbling with the strong winds creating high, choppy waves.
It’s not open ocean so the waves aren’t as high, but it can get turbulent. Easily enough to knock a boat over unless you navigate well.
My great-grandfather had to ditch all the contraband flour into the sea. But if you’ve ever had to throw flour into water, you know it doesn’t mix well or sink right away. They had a hell of a time trying to ditch it without being spotted. The combination of dumping the flour and the turbulent waters caused dad’s grandfather to somehow lose his eye. All for nothing. He and his cohorts got caught anyway.
This map shows you the trip he made from Zadar to Dugi Otok. It’s now about a 2-hour ferry ride. It’s pronounced Doogee Oh-toke. It means Long island. See the map below.
Dugi Otok
Mom’s village is called Savar. Dad’s is called Luka (Loo-kah). They are about 12 km apart as the crow flies, 15 km on the highway. But walking along those goat trails must have taken a long time. The church at the bottom of Savar by the docks is the oldest church in Dalmatia. It’s called St. Pelegrin, and was constructed somewhere between the 7th and 9th century.
According to: http://www.dugiotok.hr/en/history#sv-nikola, Dugi otok was first mentioned in mid-10th century by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, who in his “De administrando imperio” mentions it under the name Pizuh. In the beginning of the 11th century the island was called Insula Tilagus in written documents, and this name is preserved in the name of Telašćica bay. The island’s present name was given in the 15th century.
History of Luka and Savar
According to a document out of Croatia: http://dalmatia-green.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/tisak_dugiotok.pdf, Luka was first called Vallis Sancti Stephani between 1570 and 1606. After that it became Giso, and then Luka as it is known now.
The church decided that it wasn’t a good idea to have the village named after a saint, St. Stjepan. They thought the little valley of the village looked like a harbour so they named it Luka, which means harbour in Croatian. The document also shows that the population of Luka was 162 in 1857, 375 in 1948, and 99 in 2001. Savar’s population was 151 in 1857, 286 in 1948, and 57 in 2001.
A 2011 census shows that there were 123 citizens in Luka and only 53 in Savar: https://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/census2011/results/htm/E01_01_01/e01_01_01_zup13_3794.html
Wikipedia added this little bit of history of the island:
The old and main settlement on the island was located in the southern area. It has only been inhabited significantly since the Turkish invasions (15th-16th centuries). Until then the island belonged to Zadar monasteries and citizens.