Best of Bol pick · Things to visit · in the old town
House in a House (Paloc)
A 19th-century house in Bol whose walls were built around a poor farmer's house when he refused to sell. The brothers building it drowned on the way back from Venice, the house was never finished, and the little house still stands inside it.
Why it is a pick
- One of the oddest buildings in Dalmatia
- A protected cultural monument
- A five-minute stop with a good story
- Free to see from outside
The story
In the 19th century the land belonged to the Vuković family: six brothers, three of them priests and three sea captains who traded around the Mediterranean in their own sailing ship. When the captains married Spanish wives, the brothers decided to build a big house there. A poor farmer called Marko already lived on the plot, in a small house of his own, and he would not sell, however much they offered. The local chief tried to settle it; Marko quarrelled with him, threatened his life, and fled to the Republic of Dubrovnik for fear of what would follow.
While he was away, the Vukovićs simply built around his house, planning to pull it down later. Marko came back and put explosives under the walls, but they did not go off, and he fled again. The new house had reached three storeys when the brothers sailed to Venice for timber and other materials. On the way home their ship went down in a storm with everyone on board. None of the brothers had children, so the family died out and the work stopped. A few years later Marko came home to his little house inside the walls. After he died, the building was left empty.
Much of the story is local legend, but the house inside the house is real, and it is a protected cultural monument.
To do To confirm: House in a House: street or square, for the address and the map link.
To do To confirm: House in a House: whether it is lit at night and whether the inside can be visited.
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