Travel with Indigo

There is not much to be said about the city that has not been glowingly reported before. Lord Byron called it the Pearl of the Adriatic, George Bernard Shaw said it was Paradise on Earth, and a general under Napoleon dubbed it, just before capturing it, an Oasis of Civilization.

The Serbs and Montenegrins during the Yugoslav Wars called it a target and very nearly destroyed the place by raining down upon it some 2,000 artillery shells in 1991 and 1992. At the time the bombardment began, the citizens of the town were unarmed, defenseless and had done nothing to provoke the Serb Army except vote not to join the Greater Serbian Nation. It was a shameful act of spite that Croatians will not forget, another in a long history of affronts not forgotten.

Today, the damage repaired and the famous town restored to its prior grandeur, it remains one of the world’s gems, deservedly a UNESCO World Heritage site. Marble paved squares, steep cobbled streets, elegant palaces, convents, churches, fountains and museums, all built from the same sand-colored, finely milled limestone, are enclosed by enormous protective walls. Built to keep out invaders, a task at which they failed, the walls now shelter this enchanted town from the modern world outside and most importantly from traffic. Only pedestrians fill its streets.

Kitty and I visited there in the swelter and crowds of the summer season, a timing that in the day detracted from our enjoyment. At night, though, after the cruise ships have departed, the locals begin their habitual promenade and the city takes on a magical air that lightens the step and brings a smile to the most sullen face. It ranks for me as one of the finest examples of a restored old town.