“Ars Moriendi”
The Art of Dying
In The Plague Times
This Dubrovnik tour tells somewhat different tale than the usual tours do, so be prepared for some interesting, and dispiteous, history facts. For more than a millennium plague was a constant in Europe and in Dubrovnik as well. “God’s rage” killed more city residents than any other disaster, and forced a small community to find a way to deal and live with it. As a result, Dubrovnik became the forerunner and model for all public health services in Europe.
A contagious disease, as old as humankind, was the main cause of dying in Dubrovnik in the past. Without a knowledge how it starts and what causes it, plague was considered God’s punishment for sinners.
People prayed for the saints to protect them, alchemists made special remedies so that people became resistant. They built churches, flogged themselves in public, all to please God not to send the disease. It was all fruitless, the disease was returning regularly, every few years.
Collegium Ragusinum crest/central balustrade atop the Jesuit’s stairs
Detail of a mourning sculpture/Cemetery Boninovo
RECOMMENDATION / This tour can be extended with a walk on the city walls, cable car ride or visit to Lokrum Island.
DURATION / 2 hours (basic tour)
PRICE / on request
MEETING POINT / Pile gate (in front of the stone bridge that leads into the City Walls), or your preferred location. You will see a sign with your name on it.
START TIME / on demand
LANGUAGE / English
GROUP SIZE / max. 8 people
Lazareti – The Maritime
Sanitary Monument
The urge to live with its presence shaped a wide range of health measures to protect citizens as much as possible. Already in 1377 Dubrovnik government introduced an isolation as a preventive measure for all visitors arriving from infected areas. Over centuries, very strict sanitary measures evolved: from the blockade of the infected city, the isolation of contagious and sick, the incineration of infected houses, to prosecutions for those who violated sanitary measures.
During this Dubrovnik tour you will hear the story about the art of the dying, and you will see that the plagues still lives in the city’s memory; in ancient churches, old habits and local dialect. However, the most impressive reminder of it is Lazareti – the last quarantine station erected in front of the eastern city gate in the 17th century. It is a place where numerous domestic and foreign merchants were forced to stay on arrival, sometimes up to 80 days, along with their goods. The small, isolated world of people of different nationalities, religions, social status, who were closed here, all with the same goal and desire: to stay healthy and finally leave the lazaretto.
“Ars Moriendi”
DURATION / 2 hours (basic tour)
PRICE / on request
MEETING POINT / Pile gate (in front of the stone bridge that leads into the City Walls), or your preferred location. You will see a sign with your name on it.
START TIME / on demand
LANGUAGE / English
GROUP SIZE / max. 8 people
RECOMMENDATION / This tour can be extended with a walk on the city walls, cable car ride or visit to Lokrum Island.
The Art of Dying In The Plague Times
Fuge Cito, Longe et Tarde Revertere!
(Run Fast, Far Away and Be Back As Late As Possible)
People prayed for the saints to protect them, alchemists made special remedies so that people became resistant. They built churches, flogged themselves in public, all to please God not to send the disease. It was all fruitless, the disease was returning regularly, every few years.
Detail of a mourning sculpture/Cemetery Boninovo
Lazareti – The Maritime Sanitary Monument
During this Dubrovnik tour you will hear the story about the art of the dying, and you will see that the plagues still lives in the city’s memory; in ancient churches, old habits and local dialect. However, the most impressive reminder of it is Lazareti – the last quarantine station erected in front of the eastern city gate in the 17th century. It is a place where numerous domestic and foreign merchants were forced to stay on arrival, sometimes up to 80 days, along with their goods. The small, isolated world of people of different nationalities, religions, social status, who were closed here, all with the same goal and desire: to stay healthy and finally leave the lazaretto.
Private Walking Tours
Join me on a private, custom-tailored tour. Discover Dubrovnik with the local, born and raised within the stone walls. Let me show you the city of my childhood.
