The legend say that Korčula, from the central Dalmatian archipelago, separated from the mainland only by a narrow strait, was founded by Trojan hero Antenor in the 12th century BC, but the archaeologists have found there settlements dating back since Mesolithic. Inhabited by Illyrians, but also by Greeks colonists, the island was subsequent conquered by Romans, and in the 6th century AD it came under Byzantine rule. The Great Migrations brought Slavic and Avar invasions, and finally the Croats seized control of the area. A time Venetian merchants paid tribute to the Neretvian pirates, but in 998 the neighbour Principality of Pagania came under Venetian control.
Found a time under the control of the Great Principality of Zahumlje, in the 12th century the island was incorporated into the Venetian Republic, situation which has been preserved, with minor interruptions, until 1789, when passed on to the Habsburg Monarchy. After the WWI, Korčula became a part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, was ruled by Italy from 1918 to 1921, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known from 1929 on as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, later Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After 1991, the island became a part of the independent Republic of Croatia, recognized in 1992.
Korčula is the second most populous Adriatic island, after Krk, and its main settlement is the town with the same name, a historic fortified town on the protected east coast, on a promontory that guards the narrow sound between the island and the mainland. There were about ten towers around the town, some square and some round, surpassing by little the lines of the walls. Its streets, the most of them stepped, are arranged in a herringbone pattern allowing free circulation of air but protecting against strong winds. Its only connection with the island is cut off by an artificial trench, crossed by a bridge whose design is based on a fish bone pattern. The cathedral is of biggest splendour, demonstrating key characteristic of the regional architecture of late Gothic and Renaissance period. From this very period dates the largest number of private houses. The most attractive are patrician palaces disseminated in all parts of the town, but concentrating around the top of the hill and the port. The historic town of Korčula was included on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2007.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Croatian Gastronomy, designed by Damir Fabijanić, issued on July 2, 2012, and containing four stamps with the same face value (4,6 HRK), depicting traditional dishes of Croatian Adriatic:
• Spider Crab (Maja squinado)
• Oyster (Ostrea edulis)
• Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) - it's on this postcard
• Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata)
References
Korčula (town) - Wikipedia
Korčula - Korčula Turist Board
The historic town of Korčula - UNESCO official website
sent from Rijeka (Croatia), on 18.08.2013
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