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Island made of sunken ships among Perast’s charms

PERAST, Montenegro — Less than an hour southeast from the pretty limestone palaces of Dubrovnik, Croatia’s top tourist attraction, the road along the Adriatic coastline crosses the border with Montenegro and turns inland to follow the improbably cana

PERAST, Montenegro — Less than an hour southeast from the pretty limestone palaces of Dubrovnik, Croatia’s top tourist attraction, the road along the Adriatic coastline crosses the border with Montenegro and turns inland to follow the improbably canal-like mouth of the entrance to the Bay of Kotor.

Car ferries shuttle back and forth between two promontories, but by initially turning northwest, almost back on its tracks, the road eventually loops round the rim of a vast natural harbour enclosed by the Dinaric Alps, its waters placid even by Mediterranean standards, to a point opposite its mouth.

Here the route climbs to the little town of Perast — a jumble of limestone walls and terracotta roofs tumbling down to the waterside. It’s Dubrovnik in miniature, but without the crowds.

Perast spent much of its history in the shadow of a larger, heavily fortified neighbour Kotor, but thrived in the 17th century (during more than 300 years of Venetian control), building palaces and churches with obvious Venetian architectural influences, some now roofless and abandoned.

Today Perast is all but forgotten, its population only about 120.

Its Bujovic palace is now a fine museum charting the history of Perast’s noble families.

The town’s reputation for excellent seamanship was such that even the Russian imperial court sent naval officers for training at its academy, and still today many of its men are merchant sailors. Dignified portraits look down on cabinets of maps and weaponry, sea chests and figureheads.

The palace’s broad balcony, like the range of waterside restaurants below, looks out on two tiny islands that dominate the view and draw the eye whether from the top of one of several bell towers or from the steep, stepped alleys that lace the hillside.

On the left is the Island of St. George, almost completely occupied by its abbey. What little land remains is shrouded in pines and for centuries has been the chief burial place of Perast’s worthies.

On the right is the largely man-made Our Lady of the Rock. Originally merely a crag it became an object of veneration following the recovery from illness of a citizen who had discovered an icon of the Virgin Mary there.

From 1452 the people of Perast began to scuttle ships and deposit stones until there was a platform large enough for a church. The island was also intended as a rival to St. George, owned by Kotor, and construction accelerated as a penance for the 1535 murder of a Kotor-appointed abbot.

The present building is 17th century, small but magnificent, topped with a striking blue dome.

Local boatmen ferry visitors out for only a few euros to view its ornately carved and painted interior, as well as an incongruous display of artifacts left in thanks for dangers avoided and sicknesses survived, including kitchenware, clocks, keys, a sewing machine and an ancient gramophone.

Every July 22, a procession of gaily decorated boats re-enacts the creation of the island by depositing fresh stones to ensure its continued security and the continued good fortune of Perast’s sailors.

More stories at culturelocker.com