Tag Archives: Lastovo

Lastovo Town

On Tuesday we decided to go to the main town on Lastovo, called Lastovo. We took the tender into Pasadur to catch the bus, but it being school holidays here the bus didn’t run as often as it might. So we ended up with just a 2 hour window in which to look around Lastovo town.

There is a tourist route around the town and lots of efforts have been made to provide information on the history of the place. But apart from the main street where the bus stops which has bars, an ATM and a supermarket the remainder of the village seems a bit ‘unloved’; which sort of adds to its rustic charm.

However; Lastovo does boast a ‘castle’, and I do like a castle. Said castle, being perched on the highest hill in the area, also promised excellent views.

I climbed up to the ‘castle’, and found more of a watch tower, heavily rebuilt and repaired down the years but now closed. The views were good and I was gratified to be told that an EU grant had provided the view point. This confused me a bit as Croatia is in the Schengen Area but not yet an EU member …… enough said.

The views were nice. But. The half hour it took to make the 100m climb up the rocky trail with a 45 degree incline in 30 degree heat, to look at a telescope marring the views, and back down again, could have been better spent in the bar by the bus stop enjoying a cold beer wishing I’d made the effort.

We then took a more gentle stroll to the church of St Cosmas and Damian, which seems to be the largest one around. It was built on an older church and is first mentioned in records at the start of the 14th century.

On the way we passed numerous information boards about the island and town. Its claim to fame is that it is the birth place of Pasko Antica, the leader of the People’s Rebellion in 1603. At that time the island was governed from Dubrovnik which decided to hike taxes. The islanders disagreed, electing Pasko as the Mayor and Military Commander. He ordered the building of the ‘castle’ but died in 1603 in suspicious circumstances when visiting Venice with a delegation of islanders.

Lastovo is also known for its unique round chimneys with rather complex covers. They are apparently known as ‘Fumari’, a term applied specifically to these Lastovan chimneys.

Lastovo town was interesting. There is obviously a lot of history to the place but it doesn’t seem to have been preserved down the years. Worth the visit because we were here.