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Šibenik is one of the few cities along Croatia's Adriatic coast that was not born from either a Roman or Greek settlement. It is possibly the oldest Slavic town and dates back to the 11th century. The city has, however, been a part of Venetian and Austro-Hungarian rule as well was under French occupation in the early part of the 19th century. One of the most important sights in Šibenik is the cathedral of St. James.
The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik (1431-1535), on the Dalmatian coast, bears witness to the considerable exchanges in the field of monumental arts between northern Italy, Dalmatia and Tuscany in the 15th and 16th centuries. The three architects who succeeded one another in the construction of the Cathedral - Francesco di Giacomo, Georgius Mathei Dalmaticus and Niccolň di Giovanni Fiorentino - developed a structure built entirely from stone and using unique construction techniques for the vaulting and the dome of the Cathedral. The form and the decorative elements of the Cathedral, such as a remarkable frieze decorated with 71 sculptured faces of men, women, and children, also illustrate the successful fusion of Gothic and Renaissance art. |
It is a UNESCO-designated heritage site and this is what the organization has to say about the historical importance of the Cathedral: "The structural characteristics of the Cathedral of St James in Šibenik make it a unique and outstanding building in which Gothic and Renaissance forms have been successfully blended. The Cathedral of St James is the fruitful outcome of considerable interchanges of influences between the three culturally different regions of Northern Italy, Dalmatia, and Tuscany in the 15th and 16th centuries.
"These interchanges created the conditions for unique and outstanding solutions to the technical and structural problems of constructing the cathedral vaulting and dome.
"The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik is a unique testimony to the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance period in church architecture."
In the same square as the cathedral is a memorial to Dalmatinac, created by the greatest Croatian sculptor of the 20th century, Ivan Mestrovic. Just to the north of the Cathedral is the Loggia, built in typical Italian style. Several other churches are worth visiting, such as the Church of St. Barbara and the Church of St. Nicholas.
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