Sibenik
(Sebenico) lies almost in the middle of the Croatian Adriatic Coast, in the picturesque
bay around the mouth of the river Krka. Sibenik was mentioned for the first time in 1066.
In 1298, when the Diocese of Sibenik was established, it obtained its status of a town. In
the following centuries it was alternatively under Hungarian or Venetian rule, then in
1412 Venice firmely established its controll over Sibenik (Sebenico) that finished in 1797
at the fall of the Republic.
After a brief French occupation the city was put under
Austrian controll untill 1918 when it was ceded to Yugoslavia. Four Venetian fortresses
dominate the town: S. Anna fortress (a medieval fortress but rebuilt in 16th-17th
centuries), San Giovanni fortress (built in 16th century), San Niccolò fortress (built in
1540-1547) and Subicevac fortress (built in 16th century). In Sebenik (Sebenico) was born
Niccolò Tommaseo (1802-1874) writer and Italian patriot.
The Church Uspenie Bogomatere is a Baroque
building from the 17th to 18th centuries. Sibenik (Sebenico).
The Church of Sv. Ivan is a
Gothic-Renaissance building from the second half of the 15th century. Sibenik
(Sebenico).
Street, Sibenik (Sebenico).
S. Anna fortress (a medieval
fortress but rebuilt in 16th-17th centuries), Sibenik
(Sebenico).
View from S. Anna fortress, Sibenik (Sebenico).
S. Giovanni fortress, it was built
in 16th century, Sibenik (Sebenico).
S. Anna fortress, gate, Sibenik (Sebenico).
S. Anna fortress, coat of arms, Sibenik (Sebenico).
The Town Hall (Loggia Vecchia, Gradska
Vijecnica), Sibenik (Sebenico). It's situated on the northern side of Trg Republike
Hrtvatske. It is a very harmoniuos Renaissance building erected between 1532 and 1543 by
Michele Sanmicheli.
A palace in Trg Republike Hrtvatske,
Sibenik (Sebenico).
The
Cathedral of Sveti Jacov (San Giacomo, St James) (1431-1535) is the most important
and outstanding building of Sibenik (Sebenico). The three architects who succeeded one
another in the construction of the Cathedral were Francesco di Giacomo, Giorgio Orsini
(Georgius Mathei Dalmaticus) and Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino, they developed a
structure built entirely from stone and using unique construction techniques for the
vaulting and the dome of the Cathedral. The form and the decorative elements of the
Cathedral, such as a remarkable frieze decorated with 71 sculptured faces of men, women,
and children, also illustrate the successful fusion of Gothic and Renaissance art. It was
added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 2000.
The
structural characteristics of the Cathedral of Sveti Jacov (San Giacomo, St James) in
Sibenik (Sebenico) make it a unique and outstanding building in which Gothic and
Renaissance forms have been successfully blended. The Cathedral of Sveti Jacov (San
Giacomo, St. James) is the fruitful outcome of considerable interchanges of influences
between the three culturally different regions of Northern Italy, Dalmatia, and Tuscany in
the 15th and 16th centuries. These interchanges created the conditions for unique and
outstanding solutions to the technical and structural problems of constructing the
cathedral vaulting and dome. It's a unique testimony to the transition from the Gothic to
the Renaissance period in church architecture.
On the road from Zadar (Zara) to Sibenik
(Sebenico).
On the road from Zadar (Zara) to Sibenik
(Sebenico).
