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Čiovo

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Location
  
Adriatic Sea

Highest elevation
  
218 m (715 ft)

County
  
Split-Dalmatia

Area
  
28.8 km²

Width
  
3.5 km (2.17 mi)

Highest point
  
Rudine

Population
  
5,908 (2011)

Max length
  
15.3 km

Čiovo wwwciovoinfocomimagesstoriesislandciovo1jpg

Slatine beach iovo


Čiovo (pronounced [tʃîɔv̞ɔ]; Italian: Bua) is a small island located off the Adriatic coast in Croatia with an area of 28.8 square kilometres (11.1 sq mi) (length 15.3 km (9.5 mi), width up to 3.5 km (2.2 mi)), population of 5,908 inhabitants (2011) and its highest peak is 218 m (Rudine).

Contents

Map of Otok %C4%8Ciovo, Croatia

The centre of the island has geographical coordinates 43°30′N 16°17′E, and the annual rainfall is about 900 mm (35 in).

Osoje beach iovo


Geography

Čiovo is located in central Dalmatia, protecting the city of Trogir and Kaštela gulf. On its SE part it is only two km distant from the cape Marjan, on its northern part it is connected to the mainland with a small bascule bridge in the old centre of Trogir, and actually Trogir spread itself onto the island. Besides the portion of Trogir, on the island there are several villages: Arbanija, Žedno, Okrug Gornji, Okrug Donji, Slatine and Prizidnica.

The vegetation is typically Mediterranean, consisting mainly in understory (holm oak, myrtle, wormwood, juniper etc.). On the northern side (exposed to the wind bura) are forests of pine and cypress. Major crops include olives, figs, almonds, vines and citrus fruit.

History

In the Middle Ages, Čiovo had many villages and it was a place for lepers. Remainings of the pre-Romanesque church of St. Peter have been found near Slatine, in the Supetar cove. The medieval church of St. Maurice (Sv. Mavro) has been preserved in Žedno and the pre-Romanesque church of Our Lady near the Sea (Gospa pokraj mora). The population of Čiovo increased in the 15th century through the settlement of refugees who fled from the Turks. Simultaneously, the suburban areas of Trogir also extended to Čiovo.

Heritage

The church and the Dominican monastery of the Holy Cross (Sv. Križ) (5 kilometres (3 miles) from Trogir) were built in the 15th century by the masters Ivan Drakanović and Nikola Mladinov. In the Franciscan monastery of St. Anthony (Sv. Antun) There are a painting of Palma the Younger and a sculpture of Saint Magdalene by Ivan Duknović. Along the coast is the church of St. Jerome. On the eastern coast, up the cliff is the nicely located hermitage church of Our Lady of Prizidnica. Along the south-western side of Čiovo, vis-a-vis the beach, is a small island called Fumija, with the remains of the late antique or early mediaeval church of St. Fumija and farm buildings of the Benedictine monks from Trogir.

The church in Prizidnice was built in 1546 by a priest, Father Strojdražić, the hermit of Prizidnice who had settled there years before. On the façade of the church there is an inscription in "old Italian" ("italiano volgare"), carved into the stone board, which translates into English as "Father (priest) J. Strojdražić comes here in hermit's residence and raises this temple on the honor of Blessed Maria of Conception in 1546. The sanctuary is situated in beautiful natural surroundings on the southern part of the island, on the stone cliffs beside the sea. The steep cliffs, blue sea, blossoming agaves and a lot of autochthonous plant species, beside the old convent and small church enriched with votive ships, make this place incredible."

References

Čiovo Wikipedia