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POSTCARD FROM… ZADAR, CROATIA

Over the summer season, travel journalist Tristan Rutherford sends Y.CO a postcard each weekend as he travels around Europe’s top superyacht destinations.

Zadar, Croatia, 28 July 2012

Late July is not considered a prime investment period. But for the Venetian Empire (the Goldman-Sachs-meets-Singapore-hybrid of the medieval age) any time was deal time. On July 31st 1409 they purchased the Croatian town of ZADAR for 100,000 thousand ducats. They got an absolute bloody bargain.

Zadar wins the prize for the prettiest city in Dalmatia. Its waterfront promenade is lined by belle epoque mansions and Italianate palazzi. Inside its old town, the streets are literally paved with marble. It’s here that Zadar’s 3,000 years of history shine through. Roman columns rise next to Romanesque churches. Shops selling local wine and jewellery sit next to branches of La Furla and Max & Co.

This summer, Zadar will boast more restaurant terraces than Venice. The most authentic eateries are known as konoba: timeless establishments where fishermen would take their own catch to be cooked. Grilled octopus and John Dory stew are age-old classics, although modern creations have usurped many a menu, from squid ink risotto to carpaccio of swordfish. If superyacht guests plan to give their private chef one night off, then they should do so here.

Zadar’s restaurant row ends in a kaleidoscopic new folly. GREETING TO THE SUN is an urban art installation by Venice Biennial contributor Nikola Bašic. Waves crashing below the pontoon strike one of 300 air tubes to orchestrate a sea-powered concerto, all covered by a solar-powered disco floor that dances in the evening sun. Come sunset it’s a scream.

Just offshore lies an archipelago of bliss. Molat Island is a maquis-covered wilderness for hikers and bikers. Ulgjan is a famed for fishing and olive oil – and they mix both ingredients with aplomb. Further out to sea, Silba is smart, arty and car-free. Premuda boasts undersea caverns and an eerie shipwreck. Neighbouring OLIB is an island speck surrounded by sand.

What about the ducats, I hear you ask? Sadly for the Most Serene Republic, it lost everything in the Napoleonic casino two centuries ago. But its 400-year tenure of Zadar gifted resident Venetian governors bags of cash. And they certainly ate well.

Wish you were here…

Tristan

Posted by Tristan Rutherford in CHARTER LIFESTYLE, DESTINATIONS, YACHTS

on 28th July 2012 at 10.00am

http://blog.ycoyacht.com/postcard-from-zadar-croatia