Rab Port of Refuge – Cove of St Mara
Naziv
Rab Port of Refuge – Cove of St Mara
Klasifikacija prema RKD
Vrsta baštine
Grad
Opis
The waters between the Kvarner islands of Krk, Cres and Rab have been an area of intensive navigation since ancient times. The safest sea route between Dalmatia and Istria, and further on towards Venice was among these islands. On the other hand, this area is very windy, which makes sailing in it demanding. From the Middle Ages until the appearance of steamships, those who sailed in the Adriatic complained that Kvarner Bay was extremely dangerous for navigation and that one should cross it as fast as possible. This is shown by the numerous shipwrecks from different periods all over this area. The harbours that provided shelter in the event of extreme winds and storms were of vital importance to seafarers. The small cove of St Mara (St Margaret) on the Kalifront peninsula in the west of Rab was considered significant in the oldest books of islands (‘isolario’), in which it was marked as an important shelter in Kvarner Bay. Its position and its configuration provided a safe shelter because the ships in it were protected from winds from various directions: the tramontana, bura, lebić and jugo. In addition, the cove is large and deep enough to provide shelter for several ships. We do not know when the church after which the cove was named was built. The Church of St Margaret is mentioned only in the second half of the 15th century, but since no older sources have been preserved, it is possible that it is much older. In the 15th century, the
Benedictine hermit Aloysius lived near the church.
