The House in a House in Island Brac
Istria’s history is a fascinating mosaic of different cultures and influences. Each era has left its mark, and together they form the rich heritage that makes this region so unique. Here you will find another story.
The House in a House or "Kuca u kuci" is actually a smaller house built into what remains from a much bigger house or mansion. In some way walls of the smaller house are almost adjacent to the bigger one. The present address of this unusual undertaking is on Lower Wharf No. 10 in the township BOL . The smaller house was inhabited by an elderly couple until some years ago but it is uninhabited now and going to ruins.
The bigger house is all you see from the street and most of windows are closed with dry-stone. Only if one peeks through crevasses one could see the smaller house though. Below are two pictures about one of the lesser well known monuments of Bol and none of classical sources refers to it though.
Long time ago a man named Marko lived in the "HOUSE IN A HOUSE". He often was rather nervous and inconsiderate so the townsmen of Bol nicknamed him "Vigorous Marko". The large piece of land behind Markos house belonged to the rich family Vukovic. The large Vukovic's family consisted of six brothers of whom three were priests and the other three were sea-captains who owned a large ship that sailed as far as
to Spain. All three captains married in Spain and then decided to build a great palace ("Paloc") in Bol for their families. To achieve their goal it was necessary first to buy Marko's house and the small plot of land it stood on. Yet "Vigorous Marko" did not want to sell his house cum land and the negotiations ended in a grave dispute between the parties.
The Vukovics' were on friendly terms with the master Vužic, that time the Principal of Bol, so they turned to him asking for help to solve their problem. Vužic tried hard to persuade Marko to sell his property to Vukovics but he persistently was refusing to accept the offer so Vužic had to put force on Marko in the name of his Principal's authority and influence. This even had angered "Vigorous Marko" more so he reverted with severe threats that he would kill Vužic if gets onto his property and in the house. Therefore Vužic decided to put Marko in jail for good but subsequently Marko had escaped to the Republic of Dubrovnik. When Marko disappeared from township of Bol Vukovics started with the construction of their palace in erecting the walls around Marko's house.
Not too long after Marko heard about Vukovics' undertaking and he bought 4 barrels of gunpowder (1barrel = 33liters) prior to return to Bol. There he found few friends who would help him to destroy
everything what Vukovics had built up to then. One night Marko's gang went out to dig holes under the erected walls and to place gunpowder therein. Before all the fuses could be fixed revengers heard that somebody was approaching so they run away head-over-heels. Marko had to leave Bol again and to find a new refuge for a while.
Vukovics continued building their palace and left for Venice on their ship as to procure the roof building material there. Today one does not know exactly what happened with their ship that has been lost in a tempest on a voyage either to or fro of Venice. Thus all three captains lost their life by drowning and because they did not have children of their own the Vukovic's clan died out. After a while "Vigorous Marko" returned to Bol where he continued to live in his house in Bol that was surrounded by walls of the unfinished palace. Marko did not marry at all so he did not have any children either one of his nephews went on residing in the house after Marko died.
Now-a-days "The House In A House" or "PALOC" still stands proudly there thus witnessing the legend of long passed times. The House in a House in Island Brac.
Comentários