Sights of the city of Pag
Description and locations of the most important sights of the city of Pag
Kamerlengo Tower
Kamerlengo Tower no longer stands in its original form. The former tower today houses the town government, while during the summer months the Town Hall serves as an exhibition space for various artists.
Church of St. Francis
The Church of St. Francis (‘Sveti Frane’ in Croatian) was built in the latter half of the 15th century in the northern part of the old town core. Works on its façade continued until mid-1510s. A monastery next to it belonging to the order of Friars Minor Conventual was dissolved in 1785. There is no significant artwork inside the church, but the tombstones of Pag’s noble families with their heraldic emblems and inscriptions have been preserved, including the plaque of Elizabeta, the daughter of a Pag potentate, Jerolim Bragadin. Concerts are held in the Church during the Pag Cultural Summer, organized by Nina and Lovro Pogorelić, which is the most important and the most attractive part of the Pag Summer.
Benedictine Monastery
The construction of Pag’s Benedictine Convent of St. Margaret began right after the new town of Pag was established, as a memorial to the former church and convent in the Old Town. The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built right next to the convent in 1483. Pag’s noble Mišolić family entrusted construction of the Chapel of Saint Nicholas (later: Our Lady of Mercy) to master-builder Juraj Dalmatinac (Giorgio de Sebenico), who later entrusted his apprentice Radmilo Alegreti with the task. Following the reconstruction of the church, the chapel was thoroughly renovated and its initial design was restored. It is therefore the most valuable architectural monument of the Gothic-Renaissance style in Pag.
Salt storage
The salt warehouses are structures in the monument category, situated opposite the town core at Prosika. They testify to utilitarian architecture of past times and the importance of salt production to Pag’s natives. The first three warehouses were built in the 17th century, while the other six were constructed during the second Austrian administration.
Gradac Vista
The Gradac vista offers the most spectacular panoramic view of the core of Pag. Gradac is located by the road connecting Pag and Novalja.
Skrivanat Tower
Skrivanat Tower is the only remaining tower out of the 9 towers that defended the town of Pag. It was built in the 15th century and has been preserved in its original shape. A promenade takes you by the tower, which hosts cultural events and entertainment during the summer months, including klapa (a capella) and choir performances, plays, summer workshops, and the like.
Sveti Vid Peak
Sveti Vid (St. Vitus) is the highest peak on the island of Pag, 348 m above sea level. The small Church of St. Vitus was built there in the 14th century. It provides a view of most of the island’s settlements: Pag, Kolan, Šimuni, Mandre and Košljun; and of the neighbouring islands of Rab, Lošinj, Silba, Olib and Maun. Several marked hiking paths lead from Dubrava and Kolan to Sveti Vid Peak. A newly made path leading from the old heart of Šimuni to the peak can be approached by car.
Rector’s Palace
The Rector’s Palace is located on the main square. It was built in the 15th century and completed under the rule of Rector Toma Zorzi. It has been the centre of town and island administration for centuries. From Venetian times until the early 19th century, the palace was the seat of the rector, and later on the town rector and magistrate. A well in the palace courtyard has an ornamented crown and the coats of arms of Pag’s dukes. Master-builders of the Dalmatinac circles from Šibenik and Zadar participated in the construction of the Rector’s Palace. The entrance (atrium), which according to its inscription was built in 1467, is adorned by one of the most beautiful portals on Pag. The stylistic features show that it was made under the influence of master Juraj Dalmatinac (Giorgio de Sebenico) and also displays traces of work by Ivan Pribislavić.
The Rector’s Palace is today a renovated cultural monument that serves as a venue for plays and concerts as part of the Pag Cultural Summer festival.
Town Walls
Until the mid-19th century, the town of Pag was encircled by sizeable and lovely walls with defence towers. Pag had several town gates, and the largest was in the Katine section, called the Porta Marina. Only the lintel of Rector Nikola Tiepolo remains preserved from this gate. The Minor Gate was a little farther south. Skrivanat Tower was erected, as recorded by the inscription bearing the crest of Rector Toma Zorzi, in 1468, and together with part of the town wall it is the best preserved part of Pag’s defensive system. Today a promenade passes next to the tower, and in the summer months it is a venue for various cultural events and entertainment, such as performances by a capella ensembles and choirs, plays and summer workshops. Today’s town hall was constructed in 1906 on the former Kamerlengo Tower. Well-known Pag Mayor Frane Budak had it built at the site for the needs of the Pag Municipality of the time. Part of the southern town wall is visible in the town’s south, in the southern end of the Katine section.
Katine Bridge
A new bridge that connects the new town of Pag with Prosika replaced the early 20th century concrete bridge. The bridge is a somewhat altered replica of an old Venetian bridge built in 1737 based on the design by renowned Venetian architect Giambattista Lodoli.
Meridian 15 East
The town of Pag already had one of the first sundials in Europe at the end of the 19th century. The marker for meridian 15 is roughly 5 km from Pag, on a macadam road, in a tract named after St. Mary Magdalene, with a marble marker set along the intersecting line.
Church of St. George
Construction of the Church of St. George, the patron of both the town and the island of Pag, began prior to 1465 and continued until the late 15th century. In the late 16th century, the church was expanded and a new Renaissance façade was built that enclosed the church itself and an auxiliary room to serve as the seat of the Fraternity of St. George, which was highly esteemed in the town.
The Church is an oblong, single-nave rectangular structure with a four-sided apse. The apse is overarched by a pointed barrel vault. Gothic lancet windows are on the southern lateral wall of the church. The frontal façade features a portal with a lunette that once bore a relief image of the Lion of St. Mark. The building’s ultimate appearance is created by the façade, which ends in a central semi-circle with lateral quadrants in the High Renaissance style.
Holy Mass is regularly celebrated in the restored church on the feast of its titular St. George. The church is also used as an exhibition hall.
Co-cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is situated on the main town square and is the most valuable monument of ecclesiastical architecture in Pag. The cornerstone was laid on 18 May 1443, marking the commencement of its long-lasting construction.It was constructed by master-builders from Šibenik and Zadar. The sources confirm the names of Juraj Dalmatinac and Zadar architects Pavao Juraj Dimitrov, Marko Andrijić and Nikola Alegreti. The portal’s lunette has great artistic value and was probably made by Ivan Pribislavić or Petar Berčić.
In canonical terms, the church is collegiate, and to this day it has a college of canons headed by the chapter archpriest with the title mitred abbot of St. Peter, held over from the ancient Monastery of St. Peter the Apostle at Prosika.
The Old Town of Pag
Pag’s Old Town is located a kilometre south of today’s town core. What used to be a large and rich town is today is an archaeological site and shrine. The Romanesque Church of St. Mary with a statue of the Mother of God has been preserved along with the remains of a Franciscan monastery. Pag’s residents maintain the tradition of pilgrimages from the Old Town to “new” Pag on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, carrying a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The votive procession first began in 1885. A cholera epidemic hit Pag in 1852 and raged in intervals and, to prevent contagion, all graves were relocated from the town and its churches. On the Feast of the Assumption in 1885, the people of Pag gathered spontaneously in the Old Town, around Mary’s statue, praying for salvation from the cruel disease. They carried the statue to Pag’s parish church. The last cholera victims were buried on 16 August of the same year, the Feast of St. Roch. It was then that the people of Pag vowed to bring Mary’s statue to Pag every year and put it on display in the Church for 22 days, until the Nativity of Mary, enabling the congregation to thank her and pray for salvation, health, peace, and love.
Izvor: TZGPAG