The ten connected stone buildings of the Lazareti complex stand in a straight line, separated by internal courtyards that once served as a barrier against the plague. Built during the seventeenth century, the site acted as a quarantine…
Ragusa Republic of Liberty
This self-guided walk visits the sites of medieval Ragusa's visionary welfare laws and social security systems. We will see where the republic established pioneering quarantine facilities, state-funded orphanages, and food security programs.
Listen to this tour in the Mira app →
1. Lazareti
2. Sponza Palace
The Sponza Palace catches the light with a long row of pointed Gothic windows on the upper floor, sitting in sharp contrast to the rounded, heavy arches of the ground level loggia. Built in the early sixteenth century, the palace served as…
3. Orlando's Column
Orlando's Column stands in the heart of the Stradun, identifiable by the stone knight carved in armor, holding a sword and shield. Erected in fourteen eighteen, this column represented the sovereignty of the Republic of Ragusa. It served…
4. Rector's Palace
The Rector's Palace is the low, stone building with the arched loggia supported by carved, floral-topped columns. For centuries, the elected head of the Republic of Dubrovnik, the Rector, lived inside for his month-long term. He stayed…
5. Dom Za Starije i Nemoćne Osobe Domus Christi
The heavy stone walls of Domus Christi in the Pile neighborhood hold a history that stretches back to the sixteenth century. It began as a monastery for the Order of Saint Clare, serving as a sanctuary for women. Over the centuries, the…
6. Ethnographic Museum “Rupe”
The Ethnographic Museum Rupe sits inside a sixteenth-century stone granary, recognizable by the series of deep, cylindrical wells carved directly into the bedrock. Dubrovnik’s Senate commissioned these stone pits to store the city’s grain…
7. Rooms Klarisa Palace
The Klarisa Palace sits just inside the Pile Gate, defined by the broad, stone-arched loggia that opens onto the square. Once a fourteenth-century convent for the Poor Clares, the building served as a home for young women from noble…
8. Onofrio's Large Fountain
The sixteen-sided stone basin at the Pile Gate served as the main water source for Dubrovnik after Onofrio della Cava completed the aqueduct system in fourteen forty-four. Carved stone masks, or mascarons, sit above each side, and water…
9. Franciscan Church and Monastery
The Franciscan Monastery in Dubrovnik is recognizable by the intricate, Romanesque portal carved into its stone facade. The brothers moved their base inside the city walls in thirteen seventeen because they feared the military…