Korcula, Croatia

Korcula was a pleasant surprise. What was supposed to be a week of solid rain had turned into only partially cloudy and occasional rain.

Korcula Town is most known for being the birthplace of Marco Polo. It's old town seems to be not quite as old as it appears, the stair case and "Land Gate" leading up to the rest of old town was built in the 15th century. Old Town is encircled by St. Mark's Cathedral in the center and has a number of towers along the sides. One of which now appears to be a cocktail bar.

The history of Korcula Town and Korcula island matches many of its mainland counterparts. First settled by semi-nomadic Illyrian tribes, before being overtaken by the Greeks. According to their legends the first Greek to found a settlement here was the Trojan hero Aeneas or his friend Antenor.

The island then became part of the Roman province of Illyricum after the Illyrian Wars which happened about 220 BC. From there it came under Byzantine rule in the 6th century, fell to "Slavic invasions" in the 7th, came under Venetian control in 998 as part of the Principality of Pagania.

From there, it seems their rule got a bit fluid. In the 13th century, it loosely governed by the Hungarian Empire and the Republic of Genoa (that one is new). It then seemed to flip flop between Venetian and Hungarian rule. In 1806 the French conquered the island. Then the British in 1813 who then gave it back to the Austrian Empire as a result of the Congress of Vienna. In 1815 ( that's a tough two decades).

Their history becomes a bit more familiar after that. It became part of Yugoslavia after WWI. Then had German Nazi rule during WWII becoming Yugoslavia again after WWII. After the wars of the 90s it became part of Croatia where it rests today.Read more