Walking in the town by csordila
A smaller version of Dubrovnik, with a compact historic center encased within stone walls, Korcula took shape under Venetian rule between the 10th and 18th centuries.The walled town is entered today mostly over the Punta bridge above the Fosa (ditch) through the Tower of the South Land Gate (Veliki Revelin), it is the southern entrance to Korcula Town. dating from 1391.
In the second half of the 19th century the gate inside the tower was opened, thus marking incorrectly the end of all wars already 130 years ago! What a big mistake!!
Above the entrance of the Land Gate, there is a bas-relief with the winged lion of St. Mark, as a symbol of the reign of the Venetian Republic.
Through the Land Gate, you enter the Town Hall square, where you may feel yourself immediately in the Middle Ages.
The important public buildings of medieval Korcula are situated here: the Town Hall from 1525 - always in constant use - the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snow - the Church of St. Michael just opposite the Town Hall.
East street, off the square, is the only Korcula street without steps, so that it is often called the Street of Thinkers.
Walking along the main street you arrive to the Cathedral Square. Here are the most beautiful buildings of the town, the Cathedral of St. Mark together with the Bishop's Palace. The cathedral was built from white limestone in the 15th and 16th centuries, in Gothic and Renaissance style. On the main altar a picture of the Venetian master Tintoretto can be seen that depicts Korcula three patron saints: Mark, Jerome and Bartholomew.
The oldest church in the town from the 11th century, on the western side of the square, is the Renaissance Church of Our Lady. Here can be found still the Renaissance Gabrielis palace, which is a museum today presenting the life of old Korcula.
From the Cathedral Square in northern direction, on a little street you find alleged birthplace of Marco Polo.
On the pine-fringed promenade just outside the city walls there are three bastions: Zakrjan bastion stands on the northern peak of the peninsula (1481), on the western coast the Barbarigo bastion (1485), while the Rampada bastion can be found at the eastern harbour (1493)
