Blato (often Blato na Korčuli, lit. 'Blato on Korčula') is a municipality 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 ...

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 can be reached by the main island road from town of

. The road runs through the forests in the middle of the island of Korčula.

Geography

The town was amphitheatrically built on several hills around a small central valley (40 km away from the town of

). A long avenue of linden trees called Zlinje runs through it, along with the town public buildings (recently built: schools, hotel, bank, shops, municipal building, medical centre etc.). There is a park that provides exceptional shade during the summer months. The climate in Blato matches the entire island of Korčula - it is located in the Adriatic which has a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

climate, characterized by long, quiet, dry and hot summer days with clear, short and mild wet winters. During the entire year the temperatures go below 10 °C in January and February, while June, July, August and September they average above 20 °C. Rainfall is typically Mediterranean, with a peak in late autumn and early winter and a minimum in July.

History

Blato got its name from a neighbouring field which flooded on regular basis, until 1911. The ''Blato field'' was occasionally drained. This created a lake that dried up during summer. The construction of

canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...

and

tunnels A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A Pipeline transport, pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used ...

channelled drainage water into the sea on the north coast. It created conditions for successful exploitation of more fertile land in this region. The town itself is one of the oldest settlements on Korčula and is situated in the middle of the western part of a field. The area of Blato is believed to have been settled during

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 ...

times. There is a church, 'Our Lady of the Field', located on the Blato Field that has Roman floors that place its beginnings in the 4th century. Archaeological remains of Roman Junianum (agricultural estate) have been discovered. Other remains have been found in the local area dating back to prehistoric and

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

n times. Between

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, phylloxera attacked the grape vines, causing them to perish en masse. This greatly contributed to the economic crisis that was happening within the newly formed

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Blato was facing a mass exodus. It was the sixth largest place in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

, then a region of

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(Blato in 1910 had a population of 7,102). During 1924 and 1925, about 890 residents abandoned their homes and left Blato. Whole families emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(especially

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

). During World War II Blato was bombed by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Municipality of Blato

The Municipality of Blato, situated on the island of Korčula, administratively falls under the

Dubrovnik-Neretva County 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 ...

. The municipality is made up of Blato and Potirna. It has access to the sea on both sides of the island. Once the main port of Blato, Prigradica is located about 3 km north of the town of Blato. The municipality's coastline is 36.3 kilometers in length. Within the area are olive trees and vineyards.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the Municipality of Blato has population of 3,593. The vast majority of the population are

Roman Catholic 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 lette ...

s. The municipality consists of following settlements: *Blato - 3,570 * Potirna - 23

Economy

During the long history of Blato, the economy has been oriented around the production of

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

products, especially

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. Olive oil, wine, carob and fig trees are the most significant products of the region. In the early 20th century Blato produced over 1000 carts of wine and 30 wagons of

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

for export. In addition, they produced

legumes A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

and cereals for their own use. Strong development of agriculture led to the development of ancillary services such as crafts and commercial activities. After the Second World War, Blato began a new cycle of development. They further developed the metal industry, textile industry, tourism and the agricultural industry. The population continued to decline, albeit more slowly than before. Industrial production in Blato, in recent times has seen a down turn with the closure of the textile factory Trikop. Metal industry and agriculture remains important for the economy.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

now plays an important role. Hotels and private apartments in Prizba and Prigradica have given new momentum to the economy of Blato. The main economic entities in Blato today are: *Radež Inc., a company manufacturing marine equipment and steel structures, the largest employer on the island *Blato 1902 dd company for the purchase, processing and trade of agricultural products. *Small artisans (craft and other services associated in the Association of Craftsmen) *Individual agricultural production of wine and olive oil *Tourism (rental apartments and houses for rent, hotels) *Trade (trade houses and chains) *Plumbing Blato dd *Eko doo Company for Utilities *Schools, municipalities and other government institutions and offices.

Education

*Blato Elementary School *Blato High School

Culture

The town is known for a famous

sword dance Sword dances are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Africa, Asia and Europe. General types of sword dance include: *solo dancers around swords – such as t ...

, the Kumpanija, which is performed on April 28, the day of

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 ...

, the town's patron saint, Blato Public library, sanctuary, ethno-museum, etc. A bronze

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

located in Blato is one of only three bronze foundries in Croatia and the only one outside of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Notable people

Marija Petković Marija Petković, also known as "The Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified Petković"; (Croatian: ''Marija od Propetoga Isusa Petković'', Italian ''Maria Di Gesù Crocifisso''), (10 December 1892 - 9 July 1966) was the founder of the Catholic Congrega ...

, a nun who was declared blessed, the founder of Congregation of Daughters of Mercy of St. Francis, the only religious community founded in Croatia. (1892-1966) * Ivan Milat Luketa, painter, (1922-2009) *

Pavle Dešpalj Pavle Dešpalj (18 June 1934 – 16 December 2021) was a Croatian composer and conductor. Biography Pavle Dešpalj graduated from Music Academy in Zagreb where he studied composition with Prof. Stjepan Šulek. In 1961 he founded Zadar's festi ...

, classical music composer and conductor, (1934-2021) *

Ante Žanetić Ante Žanetić (18 November 1936 – 18 December 2014) was a Croatian professional football (soccer), footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career During his club career he played for NK Hajduk Split, Club Brugge K.V. and R.W.D. Molenb ...

, football player and Olympic gold medalist, (1936-2014) *

Meri Cetinić Meri Cetinić (born 15 June 1953) is a Croatian pop singer and soprano vocalist. Cetinić was born in Split and graduated at the Teachers Academy of the University of Split The University of Split ( hr, Sveučilište u Splitu) is a universit ...

, singer/songwriter, (b. 1953) * Ante Milostic, aka Mario, singer in Deep image band.

References

External links

Municipality of Blato

Tourist Association of The Municipality of Blato
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blato, Korcula Populated places in Dubrovnik-Neretva County Korčula Municipalities of Croatia