ja_mageia

In Dubrovnik's heyday, Lopud was the seat of one of the republic's vice-rectors and, with a population of some 4000 (today it's 400), was a favoured watering hole of the city's nobles.

Located on the northern side of the island, the village of LOPUD is strung around a wide, curving bay which boasts a long, crowded and reasonably sandy beach. Its most prominent monument is the fortified monastery which overlooks the village from a promontory just east of the quay where ferries dock. Built by the Franciscans (and funded by Lopud merchants) in 1483, it's now mostly derelict, although there's long been talk of inviting a foreign investor to take the place over and put it to some use. For the time being all that can be visited is the erstwhile monastery (and now parish) Church of Our Lady of the Cave (Crkva Gospe od Spilice), which boasts a rich collection of altar paintings.Among these is a triptych (to the right as you face the main altar) by Nikola Božidarević or his workshop, depicting the Virgin and Child accompanied by a bevy of saints, the ubiquitous St Blaise among them.

The main altar is separated from the main body of the church by a delicately carved stone screen, on which small mammals munch away happily on berries, and are in turn menaced by snarling dragons.West along the seafront from the quay, steps lead up to the Dorđić-Mayner Park (Perivoj Dordić-Mayner), grouped around enormous pines, with the inevitable range of palms basking beneath. A few steps beyond lies the ruined palace of Miho Pracat, the sixteenth-century merchant and shipowner whose bust stands in the Rector's Palace in Dubrovnik. Lopud folk tales sought to explain how Pracat came by his fabulous wealth. Somewhat improbably, he is said to have robbed Dubrovnik cathedral's treasury to pay for his business ventures, one of which involved exporting the city's cats to North Africa, where he had chanced upon a plague of rodents. Paths at the back of the village lead up onto the high ground at the centre of the island, one of which (look for signs reading "Kaštio" or "Tvrdava") climbs towards the Ragusan fortress, a forty-minute walk away, which looms above Lopud village to the southeast.

It's a complete ruin nowadays, but the view from its crumbling ramparts is magnificent, with stark grey coastal mountains to the east, and the green, cone-shaped hills of Sipan and Peliegac to the north.The best of Lopud's beaches is Sunj Bay (Uvala Sunj), a lovely shallow cove backed by a grove of pines; it's 2km south of Lopud village and easily reached via an asphalt path.Rooms are available from the tourist office on the seafront . A few hundred metres west of the jetty is the Lafodia hotel, a modern affair whose en-suite rooms have small balconies, many with excellent views towards the harbour.