Monday, 4 May 2009. We continue our look around Korčula.
The maze of streets and alleyways is not really a maze at all. The crown of the city up on the hill is very straightforward to navigate. The gateway that we walked away from earlier turns out to be far more spectacular on the other side, with this fabulous staircase, sweeping down to a lower level. The winged lion of Venice is carved onto the front of the gate's tower and in fact the Venetian influence can be seen throughout the town. There are other influences though.
Before we venture into the newer part of Korčula, we go back through the gateway again to the little square to the rear.
I loved this elegant row of what look like shelf supports without a shelf! Perhaps a balcony was planned? Some of the carvings under the supports are a bit bizarre - the end one is a female figure squatting over a hole in the ground... Very educational for small boys I'm sure but, what the heck?!? I'm all for quirkiness though!
And another - blimey! The local carver must have had a fetish...!
Another small square fronting a church. Next to the church people are climbing to what looks to be a watch tower. Whether for spotting shoals of fish or pirate ships I'm not sure. The Mediterranean and Adriatic were plagued by pirates from North Africa for centuries.
This restaurant had a sign claiming that "Marco Polo found great food and love in this house. The tradition continues." Huh? He still comes in? There was definitely a family named Polo living here at the appropriate time, but no actual records to suggest it was Marco Polo's family, so I gather. But hey - it could have been! Or they could have been experimenting with mint and holes... There are plenty of accounts that assert he was born here in 1251, but this is disputed by Venice which also claims to be his birthplace.
So... great food and love... That does sort of leave you wondering whether the place was a knocking shop and he barged in shouting "Is the slim one in room six free? Oh bugger, well bring me a plate of stew whilst I wait...!" And then the tradition continues? Hmmm, well I didn't get the chance to discover, but I doubt it somehow! More likely either the Polo family ran an inn, or perhaps it was just their home and the great food was of the sort "You say it's great, husband, or you no have great love tonight!!!"
Oh and here's an example of those other influences I mentioned. This carving on a wall end shows a more Mongol influence than Venetian, don't you think? The Polos, including Marco himself spent much time in the company of the great Kublai Khan and he came back laden with riches and having somewhat gone native as it were.
So Korčula is a fascinating place to visit and I can thoroughly recommend it. We'll stay here for one more blog entry before we up sticks and leave as there's a bit more to see yet!
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments must be passed by moderator before appearing on this post.