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Ottoman incursions in the Adriatic sea and their reflections in culture and architecture of Dalmatia (15th-17th centuries): Examples of Šibenik and Hvar

Faced with Ottoman pressure from the land (Bosnia) and the sea (corsairs), the overall fortification of Dalmatian towns seemed to be the only logical response. Perhaps the best example of the phenomenon is Šibenik with its relatively well-preserved fortifications. Settlements on the islands, on the other hand, usually did not have elaborated fortification system. In such circumstances, a number of churches as most solid communal buildings underwent a process of fortification, thus becoming church-fortresses. The best examples are preserved on the island of Hvar, an important stop on the maritime route to Venice. The phenomenon of fortification was not limited only to physical appearance of towns, but had its mental dimension as well. On the one hand, certain prominent inhabitants of Dalmatian towns were among the finest examples of humanist scholars of the time. In the atmosphere of imminent Ottoman threat, however, some of them became rigid anti-Ottoman and anti-Muslim polemicists. In the time of peace, on the other hand, fortified Dalmatia communicated with the other side, while lucrative commercial relations were connecting irreconcilable neighbors. In such circumstances, not surprisingly, a number of authors adopted different, more nuanced and less biased discourse.

Ottomans, Venetian Dalmatia, Šibenik, Hvar, fortifications, perceptions

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