Smokvica ( it, Smoquizza) is a village on the island of

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 K ...

and a municipality in the

Dubrovnik-Neretva The Dubrovnik-Neretva County (; hr, Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija, ) is the southernmost county of Croatia, located in south Dalmatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče. The Muni ...

County in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It has a population of 1,210 (census 2001), in which the absolute majority are

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

(98%). Smokvica is located in the centre of the island of

, about 4 kilometers west of

Čara Čara is a village on the island of Korčula in Croatia. Korčula the island, is part of the Dalmatian coast and it belongs to the Dubrovnik-Neretva county. It has a population of 566 residents. The village is situated twenty-five kilometers west ...

, 13 kilometers east of Blato and 4 kilometers north from

Brna Brna is a village on the southern coast of the island of Korčula in western Croatia. In the 19th century, Brna served as an overnight base for fishermen from nearby Smokvica, and had a pier that was used for the export of wine. During the 1970 ...

. It is known as the birthplace of one of the best-known Croatian wines -

Pošip Pošip is an autochthonous white wine grape that is primarily grown in the Dalmatian region of Croatia on the island of Korčula, although small amounts are also being grown on the Pelješac Peninsula. While found in many areas around the Kor� ...

. The large

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

church of the ''Purification of Our Lady'' was designed by

Oton Iveković Oton Iveković (17 April 1869 – 4 July 1939) was a Croatian painter. A graduate of Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Iveković later taught at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts. He largely concerned himself with historical topics as well as some ...

and built in 1920 on the site of an older church which was built in 1666. Beside it is a "loggia", a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

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 that are named Krusevo, Prapratna, Stiniva, Banja, Sitnica, Livin Dol and Cipojino polje. The seaside village of

is part of the municipality of Smokvica. Over 70% of the area of the municipality is forested land. About 250 hectares (625 acres) are devoted to vineyards with about two million grape vines. Another 144 hectares (360 acres) are olive orchards with 176,000 olive trees.

History

The origin of the name Smokvica is not completely understood. It is understood that it might have come from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

language

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, which means pathways. It is also possible that the name could be linked with the presence of water, due to the numerous ponds and lakes in the field of Sitnica in ancient times. Most likely the name has nothing to do with the Mediterranean fruit tree, the

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

( Croatian: "smokva"). Smokvica has been inhabited since ancient times. Numerous remains of ancient ceramics have been found in the area. Mostly old

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Roman wine and olive oil vases. There are also remains of ancient Greek villas. In the Korčula Statut

from 1214 Smokvica is mentioned (but the earliest dated mention of Smokvica is in 1338). The Korčula Statute recommends on the defense of the old town of Korčula as well as Blato, Smokvica, Čara,

Pupnat Pupnat is a village on the island of Korčula in Croatia on the Dalmatian coast within the Dubrovnik-Neretva county. The village is situated 12 kilometres west of the old town of Korčula, 8 kilometres west of Žrnovo and 13 kilometres east of ...

and Žrnovo. Smokvica along with the island of Korčula was part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

(1420-1797). On June 10, 1715, at the crack of dawn, 260 Turkish pirates in two galleys landed at

, 3 miles southwest of Smokvica, and carried away 23 residents of Smokvica to be sold as slaves, along with Don Marko Bono from Zrnovo, the parish priest. Don Marko was sold as a slave in

Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic co ...

for 100 sequins but was later ransomed by his relatives for 141 sequins and returned to Smokvica where he remained until his death in 1745. Dinko Tomasic (1902–1975), the first Croatian sociologist, was born in Smokvica. His father Frano Tomasic Dezevic (1854–1926) was the first teacher in Smokvica. Following the 1934 assassination of

King of Yugoslavia This article lists the heads of state of Yugoslavia from the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes ( Kingdom of Yugoslavia) in 1918 until the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. The Kingdom of Yugosla ...

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

and

French Foreign Minister The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Qua ...

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the introduction (in Jul ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

during king's state visit to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 30 young men from Smokvica did not shave their

beards A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. Throughout the course of history, societal at ...

for six months as a sign of mourning. During World War II, the pastor's house was burned down during a German attack on August 7, 1944, with the loss of the parish archive dating back to 1604. A plaque in Smokvica lists the names of 43 Partisans from Smokvica who were killed in the National Liberation War, along with 16 civilians.

References

External links

Korculainfo.com

{{Authority control Korčula Populated places in Dubrovnik-Neretva County Municipalities of Croatia

History

See also

References

External links