Valamar Blog

We have mentioned many Dubrovnik sites on this blog, and here are reminders to the link of some of them: The Rector’s Palace, Franciscan Monastery, Orlando’s pole, Sponza Palace, City walls, Fortress of Revelin, Stradun (Placa)…Today, it’s time to talk about the oldest monastery in Dubrovnik, the one of the Dominicans. This is an exceptionally valuable historic complex, which, besides its religious purpose, also represents the important artistic treasury of ancient Dubrovnik.
Dominican Monastery in Dubrovnik was founded in 1225, and it was being built from the end of the 13th till 16th century. Its arcades were carved in the middle of the 15th cent by the local masters following the designs of well known Italian Renaissance sculptor Masa di Bartolomeo. The southern wall of the church is decorated with luxurious gothic doorway form 1419, the work of Bonino di Jacop from Milan.

Two neighboring churches belong to the complex: St Sebastian’s Church and Our Lady of the Rosary, which are used as show rooms. In the 15th cent, elegant bell-tower dominating the town was erected next to the St Dominic Church. There is an art collection of paintings by the old masters inside the old walls of the monastery, as well as a library with an archive where many precious manuscripts were diligently stored, incunabula, as well as valuable documents and manuscripts of writers and scientists of Dubrovnik.

In this museum, the exhibits belong to different artistic styles and have high artistic quality. “White friars”, highly educated and hard-working people were much loved in the Republic of Ragusa. The people of Dubrovnik donated many works of art, but they collected these works themselves, guarding them and storing them for future generations.