Korcula

Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, part of the Dalmatian archipelago; area 277 sq km/107 sq mi; population (2001) 3,100. The principal town is also called Korcula.

History Korcula has much evidence of Neolithic Age settlements. From the 6th century BC the Illyrian inhabitants lived side by side with Greek colonists who made no attempt to assimilate them. However, in the 1st century BC, the Romans conquered the island and either exterminated or sold into slavery most of the population. In the 5th century AD, after a short period under Goth rule, Korcula was incorporated into the Byzantine empire. Populated with Croats, Slavs, and Avars by the 7th century, the island proved a popular location for piracy, as it was located on some of the major trade routes. Owing to Venetian trade interests in the Adriatic, Venice conquered the island in 998. In 1298 Genoa defeated Venice here, in one of the largest naval battles of the Middle Ages. However, Venice regained domination of Korcula in 1420, and retained control until 1797, despite pressure from the Turkish empire.

Captured by Napoleon in 1806, the island passed briefly into Russian hands, before French recapture and a British invasion in 1813. According to the terms of the Congress of Vienna (1815), the British left the island of Korcula to the Austro-Hungarian empire. Korcula was finally ceded to Yugoslavia in 1919.

Features Notable buildings include the 15th-century Cathedral of St Marco; the 11th century church of St Peter, which features much 18th-century Venetian sculpture; and the Bishop's Palace (1342; extended 1653, 1860), which contains the Abbatial Treasury, featuring a rich collection of Croatian and Italian Renaissance paintings, manuscripts, books, and ceremonial robes.

The Venetian traveller and writer Marco Polo led the Venetian fleet at Korcula in 1298, and was captured and imprisoned by the Genoese. Local legend has it that Polo was in fact born on the island.