Vice Skočibuha Summer Residence

About the place

It was built from February to the end of December 1563. It was built by the biggest Dubrovnik shipbuilder Vice Stjepović-Skočibuha, from the distinguished Stjepović-Skočibuha family, immediately east of his father's castle. He decided to build the summer house-castle two years before, due to family disagreements.

The place where he had it built was a shipyard. The material for the building was imported from Kuper, and the supplier was the bricklayer Ivan Antunović. The masons were from Gruž, Tonko Rusković, who had worked on Stjepović's buildings before, and Stijepo Đivaljević. Most of the stone for construction was from Korčula, and a smaller part from the neighborhood.

The larger facility is a one-story house intended for family living. It was built of processed stone. A smaller house was built for the family monk (main and auxiliary building). The chapel next to the southern part of the family building was dedicated to St. Thomas (a memory of her father, according to Vica's words from her will). The complex, which was completely completed at the end of the 16th century, included a family house, two three-story towers (for defense against pirates), a front and back garden with a rectangular promenade, the church of St. Tome, loge (gloriet), mill, cisterns in the house and in the tower, storerooms, pavilion on the terrace, bridge and fortified entrance.

In the summer house, there is a Renaissance rectangular fireplace with preserved stucco-decoration of the hood (which is an exception in the Dubrovnik area!), an elegant Renaissance stone sink with relief-shaped edges and a rare example of the only preserved wooden balcony (balatur above the staircase of the loggia fence) in the Mediterranean area from the 16th century. century.

The summer house has all the characteristics of Dubrovnik country architecture. It is the only completely preserved country building of its kind in Croatia.

In the 2000s, it was functioning as a museum.

Good to know

Vice Stjepović–Skočibuha was a Dubrovnik man ahead of his time. He was and remains the most respected representative of the merchant class of his time. He represented the embodiment of the best qualities of a business, respectable, cultural, rich and hard-working commoner