
About Vis(Croatia)
Vis ( Greek: Ἴσσα - Issa; Italian, Venetian: Lissa) is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 (as of 2001). Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast.[1][2] The highest peak of Vis is called Hum, 587 m high.[1]
There are two towns and municipalities on the island, Vis (1,960 [3] inhabitants in the municipality) and Komiža (it. Comisa) (1,677),[4] both located on the seacoast. There are smaller settlements on the island's interior: Podselje, Marinje zemlje, Podšpilje, and Podstražje.
Vis was inhabited by the time of the Neolithic period. In the 4th century BC, the Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder, founded the colony Issa on the island. Later, it became an independent city-state, and even minted its own money and founded its own colonies elsewhere. In the first century BC, the island was held by the Liburnians. In the 4th century BC Syracusan Greeks colonised the Island[8] Its importance in the region ended with the first Illyro-Roman war (29-219 BC). Having sided with Pompeus during the period of civil struggles in Rome, became an "oppidum civium Romanorum" in 47 BC.
The island then passed, for several centuries, under the rule of the Republic of Venice, until 1797. During this time large settlements developed on the coast (Comisa, now Komiža and Lissa, now Vis). Administratively, the island of Lissa was for centuries bound to the island of Lesina, now named Hvar. The Venetian influence is still recognizable in architecture, and many words in the local Croatian dialect are Venetian in origin.
After the short-lived Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, with Italian as the official language, it passed under the rule of Austrian Empire. It maintained its Italian name of Lissa. At the end of World War I, it passed under Italian rule in the period from 1918 to 1921, according to the 1915 Treaty of London, and then was ceded to Yugoslavia following the provisions of the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo.
The sea to the north of the island was the location of two battles:
on 13 March 1811, a small Royal Navy fleet, under the command of Captain William Hoste, defeated a larger French fleet in the Battle of Lissa (1811)
on 20 July 1866, the smaller Austrian fleet, under Admiral Tegetthoff, attacked the Italian fleet, under Admiral Persano, defeating the larger Italian force and sinking the Italian ironclad Re d'Italia in the Battle of Lissa (1866).
Vis was at one point the main hideout of Josip Broz Tito, the leader of the Yugoslav resistance movement. It was occupied by Yugoslav Partisans under the command of Tito and by a British flotilla in 1941 and 1943. At the end of World War II the island returned to Yugoslavia. During the war the island was mined. Allied fighter planes were based at a small airfield that was also used for emergency landings of Allied bombers, including an American B-24 flown by George McGovern. After the war, the Yugoslav People's Army used the island as one of its main naval bases. After Croatia became independent in 1991, its navy did not reclaim most of the facilities, and the many abandoned buildings are being used for civilian purposes. In 2008, 34 mines from World War II were cleared from the island.
The main industries on the island are agriculture (mainly viticulture), fishing, fish refining and tourism.
Around 20% of arable land on the island is covered with vineyards. Autochthonous vine species cultivated on the island are Plavac Mali, Kurteloška, and Vugava (the indigenous grape of what is now known as viognier).[9]
The sea around Vis is rich with fish, especially blue fish (sardine, mackerel and anchovy). Komiža fishermen of the 16th century developed their own type of fishing boat, the falkuša which was used even in the second half of the 20th century because of its excellent features.
The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (eds. Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister), ISSA (Vis) Croatia. A town on an island of the same name in the central Adriatic. It was settled by Illyrians, who were under the domination of Liburni from the 8th to the 6th centuries B.C. At the beginning of 4th century B.C. it was colonized by Syracusan Greeks as part of a plan of Dionysios the Elder to control the Adriatic. During the 3rd century Issa founded the emporia Tragurion (Trogir) and Epetion (Stobreč) on the Illynan mainland. Its predominance in the region lasted until the first Illyro-Roman war 229-219 B.C. when it became a pawn in the battles of greater powers. In the civil war it sided with Pompey and consequently lost its privileges and autonomy in 47 B.C. when it was reduced to the rank of the oppidum civium Romanorum and was dependent on the newly founded colony at Salona. As a polis Issa minted its own money, and these coins of many types had wide circulation. The town, situated on a slope on the W side of a large bay, was defended by strong Hellenistic walls, still visible in an irregular quadrangle (265 x 360 m) that enclosed an area of 9.8 ha. The street grid and foundations of houses have been found. The necropolis has yielded many pieces of the pottery, including some from S Italy. The wall of the cavea of the theater, built in the Roman period, is incorporated into the present Franciscan Monastery. It could seat about 3000 persons. Inscriptions, statues, coins, and pottery are preserved in the archaeological museums at Split and Zagreb.
Komiža - Location and climate
Positioned in the deep-lying open port on the western coastline of the island of Vis and at the foot of nearly 600 meter high Mt. Hum, Komiza (with 1667 residents according to 2001 statistics) remains a picturesque Mediterranean town, with narrow streets, attractive stone houses squeezed together along the harbor and numerous beaches. The mild Mediterranean climate makes a stay in Komiza desirable even during the winter months. Along the entire eastern coast of Komiža bay there are many pebble beaches with springs of fresh, flowing water at Gusarica, Nova Posta, and Velo Zalo.
Komiza is known as the birthplace of the fishing masters on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Not only that her fishermen and their vessels dominated in the region and actively traded with neighboring shores, but, as American immigrants, they were also creating and generating the thriving fishing centers on both the South and North American Pacific coastlines.
Back in 1928, the citizens of Komiza established the Society for the Preservation of the Beauty of Komiza.
The tourist board of Komiža town has registered more than 1,000 beds in the private sector as apartments, studio apartments and private rooms. Available towards the outskirts of the town, adjacent to the town beach lies the modern Hotel Bisevo offering 300 beds in 126 rooms and 5 apartments. The hotel features many amenities, including a Wellness Center and Mini-golf.
In 1993, Komiža became its own municipality and in 1997 it was given a status of town.
The town of Komiža is also comprised of the neighboring villages of Borovik, Duboka, Okljucna, Podhumlje, Podspilje, Zena Glava, and the neighboring islands of Bisevo, Palagruza and Sveti Andrija (also known as Svetac), as well as the volcanic islands of Brusnik and Jabuka.
The maritime zone of Komiža is well-known for its wide selection of fish: the waters surrounding the island of Jabuka are famous as one of the richest condensation of tuna in the area, and all the islands of the Vis archipelago contain large crabs (spiny lobster and American-type lobster) and qualitative fish.
The top Komižan restaurants and family-owned wine cellars would find it impossible not to include these famous offerings from the seas, in addition to the other Dalmatian specialties.
In the last few years, due to the increased interest of tourists and especially nautical tourists on Vis and Bisevo, development of private / agro-tourism activity visibly flourishes while remaining a holistic and peaceful place.
Sports enthusiasts and active types have many options on Vis island, including paragliding, diving excursions, horseback riding, trekking, cricket, as well as a number of possible boat trips to the neighboring islands, all the way to the Diomedic island of Palagruza.

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