The islands of Ilovik and
Sveti Petar are located in
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
south of the island
Lošinj, separated by the Strait of Ilovik ().
Geography
The only village located on the island of Ilovik is also called Ilovik. The circumference of the island is , and it occupies an area of .
[
] The coast is accessible from all sides with many secluded bays. The largest bay with a sandy beach is Paržine, located on the southeastern part of the island. Paržine is connected to the village by a road, as is the beach Parknu, which includes a World War II bunker. Beaches with easier access from the village include Harbac, Šoto Pini, and Sidro. Also at Šoto Pini, which means "under the pines", there is a small soccer field. The island also has a
bocce court and playground.
Ilovik and Sveti Petar are separated by an inlet which is long and wide. The location of the inlet offers a natural barrier from most winds, except partially from the
sirocco and
bora. The convenient location of this harbor makes it a favorite rest stop between the northern and southern parts of the
Adriatic. In only a few hours, you can reach
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
,
Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
,
Krk,
Rab,
Pag,
Kornati
The Kornati archipelago () of Croatia, also known as the Stomorski islands, is located in the northern part of Dalmatia, south from Zadar and west from Šibenik, in the Šibenik-Knin County. With length and 89 islands, some large, some small, i ...
and other mid-
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
n destinations.
In the town, you will find a convenience/grocery store,
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, a currency exchange office, and a few restaurants.
Vegetation
Ilovik is covered with Mediterranean vegetation, mostly
macchia. By the mid-20th century, the island was largely stripped of vegetation due to extensive goat and cattle farming, as well as exploitation of forest for
firewood
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...
and construction. In the following decades, a gradual abandonment of
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
and the introduction of electricity and
LPG cylinders have resulted in natural
reforestation, and by the early 21st century approximately 65% of the island was covered with forest and macchia.
Throughout the town,
laurel,
rosemary, and
tamarisk
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tamb ...
are common, and the island is well-known for its flowering plants,
oleander in particular, earning it the nickname of "the island of flowers". Olive trees and grape vines still populate the island and are cultivated by inhabitants for personal use. Pine trees are found throughout the island, the most impressive of which are found on the northeast side.
History
Due to its geographic location, the harbor between Ilovik and Sveti Petar has been used as a safe anchorage since ancient times. This also brought the first inhabitants to these islands.
The oldest traces of civilization are from the
Ilirian tribe ''Liburni''. Visitors can also see evidence of the presence of the civilization of
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
on the island. The remains of Roman buildings, mosaics, coins, a burial sarcophagus as well as an underwater archaeological site have been located in this area.
One notable feature of Ilovik's culture is the burial rites. After church services are held on the main island of Ilovik in the church of Saints Peter and Paul (), the body is taken by boat to the cemetery, which is located across the water on another small island named Sveti Petar. The walls enclosing the present-day cemetery date back to the 11th century and were part of a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
. Sveti Petar also houses a summer monastery for monks of the
Franciscan Order
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
and the remnants of a small castle, which was built in 1600 by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
. The castle was erected by Filippo Pasqualigo to defend the area from pirates (). The first
Croat
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
s arrived on Ilovik at the end of the 18th century from
Veli Losinj. This marked the beginning of the modern-day Ilovik.
The oldest recorded name of this island, (translated from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: "Island with No Name"), is from AD 1071. In the 13th century, it is mentioned as (translated from Latin: "Saint Peter of the Cloud") and later (translated from Italian: "Saint Peter of the Cloud"). The Croatian inhabitants named the smaller island Sveti Petar (Saint Peter), more known as 'Priko' the larger Tovarnjak ("Donkey" in English), and finally Ilovik i Sveti Petar. Locals call it San Piero.
Population
The island population has been on a steady decline since the early 1960s when the heavily religious community was granted passports by the extant Yugoslav government. Almost a quarter of the inhabitants left quickly with many crossing to nearby Italy where they were accepted as political refugees. Just under 100 people continue to live year-round on the island of Ilovik, while three times that amount live in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. For remaining inhabitants their main occupations continue to be fishing, sheep herding, agriculture and more recently
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
. Common family names are Baričević, Belanić, Budinić, Mezić, Radelić, Raguzin, and Simičić. Because of the Italian occupation and emigration to the United States, many of these names of certain families have been Italianized and anglicized to Bellani, Belanich; Budinis, Budinich; Mezzich, Mezich; Simicich.
People from Ilovik who live in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
mainly live in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
-
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
/
Astoria area. Many others live in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and
Washington. Each summer the island population will often double or triple in size when these expatriates return home with their families for vacation. People in the New York area have organized a club called the Ilovik Social Club.
Dialect
The official language of the island of Ilovik is
Croatian. During
Italian rule, the main language was
Italian.
The dialect of Ilovik is a unique one. It is based on the
Istrian dialect of
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
and is much comparable to it as well. It can be summed up as a combination of Italian and Croatian, considering many of the words are Italian. This dialect will only be understood around the Lošinj archipelago and Istria, and not on mainland Croatia.
Tourism
Over the years, Ilovik has become an increasingly popular tourist destination in the
Northern Adriatic. There are daily excursion boats that come from
Mali Lošinj
Mali Lošinj is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, on the island of Lošinj, in western Croatia. At the time of the 2021 census, there were 7,537 inhabitants, of whom 86% were Croats. The town of Mali Lošinj itself had an urban populat ...
during the summer. The main attractions are the church of
Sts. Peter and Paul; the various beaches, particularly Harbac; the town well; and the small village.
The port of Ilovik has been taken advantage of by sailors from the past to present because of the natural harbor, defending sailors from all winds, particularly Jugo, or the southern wind. During the summer, the harbor is packed with yachts and sailboats from the town cemetery to the
Venetian castle.
Music
Music on the island is an important aspect of life. One of the main modes of entertainment is one or more men playing the
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
. Often in the evening, and at certain places and events, such as in front of the church, or for Petrova (day of Sts. Peter and Paul), accordionists will gather to entertain the populace.
Ilovik also has its own traditional song, called "O Sanpjero":
: ''Oj Sanpjero, misto moje''
: ''Misto moje''
: ''Misto moje''
: ''Oj Sanpjero, misto moje''
: ''Misto moje''
: ''Misto moje''
: ''O ljubavi, zavežena''
: ''zavežena''
: ''zavežena''
: ''O ljubavi, zavežena''
: ''zavežena''
: ''zavežena''
: Chorus
: ''Oj joj joj!''
: ''Anđeliću moj''
: ''Kad će doći ona ura da ćeš biti moj!''
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Ilovik Social Club Home PagePort of Ilovik Home Page
{{Authority control
Islands of Croatia
Islands of the Adriatic Sea
Populated places in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
Landforms of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County