Moreška
Moreška is a traditional sword dance from the town of Korčula, on the Croatian island of the same name in the Adriatic. Dating back hundreds of years, the Moreška is an elaborate production involving two groups of dancers, engaging in a mock battle over the fate of a veiled young woman. Originally performed rarely on special occasions, in modern times the Moreška is performed weekly for visiting tourists. The two sides of battling dancers were originally Moors and Christians, recalling the Spanish battles of the Reconquista in the Middle Ages. However, at some point in the 19th century in Korčula, the sides changed from Christians vs. Moors, to Croats vs. Moors, or simply "White" and "Black", with the non-Moor side emerging victorious. History The Moreška in Korčula dates back to at least the mid-17th century, with its roots in the Middle Ages, from the several hundred years of battle between Muslims and Christians ( Moros y cristianos) in Spain, specially in Catalonia wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Korčula (town)
Korčula ( it, Curzola) is a town on the east coast of the island of Korčula, in Croatia, in the Adriatic. Population The City of Korčula has a total population of 5,634, in the following individual settlements: * Čara, population 616 * Korčula, population 2,856 * Pupnat, population 391 * Račišće, population 432 * Žrnovo population 1,368 Construction The old city is surrounded by walls, and the streets are arranged in a herringbone pattern allowing free circulation of air but protecting against strong winds. Korčula is tightly built on a promontory that guards the narrow sound between the island and the mainland. Building outside the walls was forbidden until the 18th century, and the wooden drawbridge was only replaced in 1863. All of Korčula's narrow streets are stepped with the notable exception of the street running alongside the southeastern wall. The street is called the ''Street of Thoughts'' as one did not have to worry about the steps. Historic sites The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vela Luka
Vela Luka (, it, Vallegrande) is a small town and a municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is located on the western side of the island of Korčula at the bottom of a wide bay which has many indented coves. Vela Luka developed at the beginning of the 19th century in a deep sheltered bay. Its name means "big harbour" in Croatian chakavian. Inhabitants of the Island of Korčula and Pelješac often refer to it simply as "Luka" (the port/harbour). It has several hotels and a medical centre called Kalos (for rheumatic disorders and rehabilitation). The inhabitants are farmers, fishermen and workers in tourism. The town also has small industrial plants. Population In 2011, the total population of Vela Luka (not including Potirna where 22 people are living, mostly from Vela Luka) was 4,137. Croats make up an absolute majority with 97% of the population. Culture, locations and events Vela Luka has an average of over 2500 hours of sunny weather a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Korčula
Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The population are almost entirely ethnic Croats (95.74%). The island is twinned with Rothesay in Scotland. Geography The island of Korčula belongs to the central Dalmatian archipelago, separated from the Pelješac peninsula by a narrow Strait of Pelješac, between wide. It stretches in the east–west direction, in length of ; on average, it is wide. With an area of , it is the sixth largest Adriatic island. The highest peaks are ''Klupca'', and ''Kom'', high. Main settlements on the island are towns of Korčula, Blato and Vela Luka. Villages along the coast are Brna, Račišće, Lumbarda and Prižba; Žrnovo, Pupnat, Smokvica and Čara are located inland. The island is divided into municipalities of Korčula, Smokvica, B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Moresca
Moresca (Italian), morisca (Spanish), mourisca (Portuguese) or moresque, mauresque (French), also known in French as the danse des bouffons, is a dance of exotic character encountered in Europe in the Renaissance period. This dance usually took form of medieval wars in Spain between Moors and Christians. Elements of moresca include blackening of the face, bells attached to the costumes and, in occasions, men disguised as women to portray fools. An example of the moresca can be seen in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of ''Romeo and Juliet'', which has a scene with both, Juliet and Romeo dancing the moresca in a circle. In the 15th century, the moresca is the most-often mentioned dance type in literature. On the rare occasions other dances (such as the basse danse, saltarello, or piva) are mentioned, the moresca is almost invariably described as well. In its early manifestation it appears in two forms: as a solo dance, and as a couple or group dance in which the dancers mime a s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morris Dance
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two people, steps are near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid one across the other on the floor. They clap their sticks, swords, or handkerchiefs together to match with the dance. The earliest known and surviving English written mention of Morris dance is dated to 1448 and records the payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London. Further mentions of Morris dancing occur in the late 15th century, and there are also early records such as bishops' "Visitation Articles" mentioning sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities, as well as mumming plays. While the earliest records invariably mention "Morys" in a court sett ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theodore Of Amasea
: ''For another Saint Theodore, see: Theodore Stratelates or Saint Theodore (other)''. Saint Theodore Tiron ( grc-gre, Ἅγιος Θεόδωρος Τήρων) is one of the two recognized saints called Theodore who are venerated as warrior saints and Great Martyrs in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The other saint of the same name is Theodore Stratelates, also known as Theodore of Heraclea, but this second St Theodore may never have had a separate existence. When the epithet is omitted, the reference is usually to St Theodore Tiron. He is also known as Theodore Tyron ( grc-gre, ὁ Τήρων, variously romanized ''Tyro'' 'n'' ''Tiro'' 'n'' ''Teron''). ''Tīrō'' is a word from classical Latin meaning a "recently enlisted soldier or recruit". The Latin word was transliterated into Greek with various spellings (Τύρων, Τίρων, Τήρων or Τείρων). Life and martyrdom The veneration of St. Theodore is at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saint Vincenca
Saint Vincenca (sometimes spelled Vicenza or Vicenca, ''Croatian'': Sveta Vincenca) is a Christian saint, who lived in the third century in Rome. As a young girl, she was tortured and then executed for her Christian beliefs, dying before the age of seventeen. She was later made a Christian martyred saint. History After her death in the third century, her body was buried in a cemetery in Via Portuense just outside Rome. In 1795, with the blessing of Pope Pius VI, her remains were transported to the small town of Blato on the island of Korčula in the Adriatic. There, her relics were placed inside the local church of Svi Sveti ''(All Saints)''. A classicist chapel for Vicenca was built within the church as well as a luxurious tomb. At the time the island was a part of the Republic of Venice, though now it is in modern-day Croatia. Since the move, she has been the patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Croatian Culture
The culture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croatian people The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Croatia, culture, History of Croatia, history and Croatian language, language. They are also a recogn ... have been inhabiting the area for fourteen centuries. Linguistic anthropological evidence suggests Croats originated from [North Iran]. There are important remnants of the earlier periods still preserved in the country of Croatia with long continuity of urban settlements especially in Dalmatia. Because of its geographic position, Croatia represents a blend of different cultural circles that meet, intertwine and complement, a crossroad of influences of the western culture and the east—ever since division of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire—as well as of the Mitteleuropa and the Mediterranean culture with more cities than in any other parts ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saint Roch
Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked against the plague. He has the designation of Rollox in Glasgow, Scotland, said to be a corruption of Roch's Loch, which referred to a small loch once near a chapel dedicated to Roch in 1506. He is a patron saint of dogs, invalids, falsely accused people, bachelors, and several other things. He is the patron saint of Dolo (near Venice) and Parma, as well as Casamassima, Cisterna di Latina and Palagiano (Italy). He is also the patron saint of the town of Albanchez, in Almeria, southern Spain. Saint Roch is known as "São Roque" in Portuguese, as "Sant Roc" in Catalan, as "San Roque" in Spanish (including in former colonies of the Spanish colonial empire such as the Philippines) and as "San Rocco" in Italian. Etymology Roch is given diffe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Feast Of The Assumption
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by God that the immaculate Mother of God, Mary ever virgin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven. The declaration was built upon the 1854 dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which declared that Mary was conceived free from original sin, and both have their foundation in the concept of Mary as the Mother of God. It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was raised to eternal life without bodily death. The equivalent belief (but not held as dogma) in the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Dormition of the Mother of God or the "Falling Asleep of the Mother of God". The word 'assumption' derives from the Latin word ''assūmptiō'' meaning "taking up". T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Smokvica
Smokvica ( it, Smoquizza) is a village on the island of Korčula and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. It has a population of 1,210 (census 2001), in which the absolute majority are Croats (98%). Smokvica is located in the centre of the island of Korčula, about 4 kilometers west of Čara, 13 kilometers east of Blato and 4 kilometers north from Brna. It is known as the birthplace of one of the best-known Croatian wines - Pošip. The large Neo-Romanesque church of the ''Purification of Our Lady'' was designed by Oton Iveković and built in 1920 on the site of an older church which was built in 1666. Beside it is a "loggia", a baroque building surrounded by columns on all sides. In the village there are several old patrician summer houses, and nearby there are several small early-medieval churches. The Ante Cefera cultural and performing society in the village nurtures the music and local folk dance called Kumpanija. Smokvica has several fertile fields th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |