Vis (island)
 Vineyards on Vis |
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Adriatic sea |
| Coordinates | 43°02′N 16°09′E / 43.033°N 16.15°ECoordinates: 43°02′N 16°09′E / 43.033°N 16.15°E |
| Area | 89.72 km2 (34.641 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 587 m (1,926 ft) |
| Highest point | Hum |
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Croatia
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| County | Split-Dalmatia |
| Largest city | Vis (pop. 1,960) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 3,617 (as of 2001) |
| Density | 40 /km2 (100 /sq mi) |
Vis (Croatian pronunciation: [v̞îːr]; Greek: Ἴσσα - Issa; Italian, Venetian: Lissa) is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 (as of 2001[update]). Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast.[1][2] The highest peak of Vis is called Hum, 587 m high.[1]
There are two towns and municipalities on the island, Vis (1,960 [3] inhabitants in the municipality) and Komiža (it. Comisa) (1,677),[4] both located on the seacoast. There are smaller settlements on the island's interior: Podselje, Marinje zemlje, Podšpilje, and Podstražje.[5]
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[edit] History
Vis was inhabited by the time of the Neolithic period. In the 4th century BC, the Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder, founded the colony Issa[6] on the island. Later, it became an independent city-state, and even minted its own money and founded its own colonies elsewhere. In the first century BC, the island was held by the Liburnians.[7] In the 4th century BC Syracusan Greeks colonised the Island[8] Its importance in the region ended with the first Illyro-Roman war (29-219 BC). Having sided with Pompeus during the period of civil struggles in Rome, became an "oppidum civium Romanorum" in 47 BC.
The island then passed, for several centuries, under the rule of the Republic of Venice, until 1797. During this time large settlements developed on the coast (Comisa, now Komiža and Lissa, now Vis). Administratively, the island of Lissa was for centuries bound to the island of Lesina, now named Hvar. The Venetian influence is still recognizable in architecture, and many words in the local Croatian dialect are Venetian in origin.
After the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, with Italian as the official language, it passed under the rule of Austrian Empire. It maintained its Italian name of Lissa. At the end of World War I, it passed under Italian rule in the period from 1918 to 1921, according to the 1915 Treaty of London, and then was ceded to Yugoslavia following the provisions of the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo.
The sea to the north of the island was the location of two battles:
- on 13 March 1811, a small Royal Navy fleet, under the command of Captain William Hoste, defeated a larger French fleet in the Battle of Lissa (1811)
- on 20 July 1866, the smaller Austrian fleet, under Admiral Tegetthoff, attacked the Italian fleet, under Admiral Persano, defeating the larger Italian force and sinking the ironclad ship Re d'Italia in the Battle of Lissa (1866).
Vis was at one point the main hideout of Josip Broz Tito, the leader of the Yugoslav resistance movement. It was occupied by Yugoslavian partisans under the command of Tito and by a British flotilla in 1941 and 1943. At the end of World War II the island returned to Yugoslavia. During the war the island was mined. Allied fighter planes were based at a small airfield that was also used for emergency landings of Allied bombers, including an American B-24 flown by George McGovern. After the war, the Yugoslav People's Army used the island as one of its main naval bases. After Croatia became independent in 1991, its navy did not reclaim most of the facilities, and the many abandoned buildings are being used for civilian purposes. In 2008, 34 mines from World War II were cleared from the island.
[edit] Economy
The main industries on the island are agriculture (mainly viticulture), fishing, fish refining and tourism.[1]
Around 20% of arable land on the island is covered with vineyards. Autochthonous vine species cultivated on the island are Plavac Mali, Kurteloška and Bugava.[9]
The sea around Vis is rich with fish, especially blue fish (sardine, mackerel and anchovy). Komiža fishermen of the 16th century developed their own type of fishing boat, the falkuša which was used even in the second half of the 20th century because of its excellent features.[9]
[edit] See also
- Adriatic Campaign of World War II
- Battle of Lissa (1811)
- Battle of Lissa (1866)
- Croatia
- Dalmatia
- List of ancient cities in Illyria
- Vis (town)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c (Croatian) First Croatian online peljar
- ^ Statistical yearbook for 2006 of Central bureau of statistics of Republic of Croatia
- ^ (Croatian) Article at site dedicated to Vis and Komiža
- ^ (Croatian) Article at official Komiža site
- ^ General information on Vis
- ^ An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen,2005,Index
- ^ Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, ISBN 0-631-19807-5, page 183, "... We may begin with the Venetic peoples, Veneti, Carni, Histri and Liburni, whose language set them apart from the rest of the Illyrians. ..."
- ^ The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (eds. Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister), ISSA (Vis) Croatia. A town on an island of the same name in the central Adriatic. It was settled by Illyrians, who were under the domination of Liburni from the 8th to the 6th centuries B.C. At the beginning of 4th century B.C. it was colonized by Syracusan Greeks as part of a plan of Dionysios the Elder to control the Adriatic. During the 3rd century Issa founded the emporia Tragurion (Trogir) and Epetion (Stobreč) on the Illynan mainland. Its predominance in the region lasted until the first Illyro-Roman war 229-219 B.C. when it became a pawn in the battles of greater powers. In the civil war it sided with Pompey and consequently lost its privileges and autonomy in 47 B.C. when it was reduced to the rank of the oppidum civium Romanorum and was dependent on the newly founded colony at Salona. As a polis Issa minted its own money, and these coins of many types had wide circulation. The town, situated on a slope on the W side of a large bay, was defended by strong Hellenistic walls, still visible in an irregular quadrangle (265 x 360 m) that enclosed an area of 9.8 ha. The street grid and foundations of houses have been found. The necropolis has yielded many pieces of the pottery, including some from S Italy. The wall of the cavea of the theater, built in the Roman period, is incorporated into the present Franciscan Monastery. It could seat about 3000 persons. Inscriptions, statues, coins, and pottery are preserved in the archaeological museums at Split and Zagreb.
- ^ a b Economy of Vis
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Island of Vis |
- Komiza - Island Vis Tourist Association
- Vis - Croatian National Tourist Board
- Vis information about the island
- Vis Island Guide
- Vis Tourist Association
- Wines of Vis
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