History of toursim on the island of Hvar...
The remains of the domincan monastery in the bay of Mostir on the island of Scedro
As in many historical areas the history of tourism on the island of Hvar has mythical origins. The greek poet Apollonios of Rhodos tells how the island of Hvar has been visited by the first european travellers, the mythical Argonauts at the beginning of 200 B.C.
In the old times tourism has been mainly of rural nature with a number of traditional eating places (Villa Rustica) which have dominated the island during the roman ruling. During the middle ages tourism in Europe has mainly been travelling pilgrims. As an important harbour town along the adriatic coast, the island of Hvar has been visited by many pilgrims that travelled from Venice to the Holy Land. Some of the them have left first evidence of an early stage of toursim on the island of Hvar during the 15th, 16th and 17th century.
During the 16th to 18th century rural tourism became very popular again. In that time (Renaissance and Baroque) many of the remaining summer houses in the city of Hvar have been built. The end of the 18th century marks the beginning of the european interest in natural history and ethnographic, archeological and cultural interest and the research of less known areas in the old continent.
At that time Dalmatia as the undiscovered garden of south Europe has been the focus and target of this exploration for its unspoiled beauty. The island of Hvar has been particularly interesting for the explorers and lured scientists and lovers of natural history into the area. The time between the end of the 18th century and the 19th century has been the time of the scientific approach to tourism.
History of the small island of Scedro
In historical records the island has been called „Torta“ (cake). Nowadays it is virtually uninhibited. Even in the summer months there is no more than 30 residents that live on the island. There used to be two villages on the island, Mostir and Nastan. Cultural heritage on the island is the dominican monastery. You can find two deep, safe bays on the island which have been historically used by greeks and venecians and keep sailors nowadays safe from strong winds.
History of Zavala
Previously Zavala has been referred to as „Pitovska Plaža“ (beach of Pitve), where the villagers of Pitve, which is the village in the mountains on the other side of the tunnel, had their land. Nowadays Zavala has about 150 residents which mainly work in fishing, farming or tourism. The old part of Zavala is not right at the beach but further up the mountain because people previously didn not like to live to close to the sea due to fear of pirates.