Following change through the centuries

Under the patronage of Dionysius, the Elder of Syracuse, the Greeks from the island of Paros in the Aegean Sea founded the polis of Pharos in a deeply indented cove in the north-western part of the island of Hvar in 385-384 BC. Twenty-four centuries later, this settlement is called Stari Grad and is one of the two oldest towns in Croatia.

LOCATION

Stari Grad

LENGTH

17 km

DURATION

04h

DIFFICULTY

Medium

The fertile Stari Grad Plain in its immediate vicinity still preserves the important heritage of the town’s founders.

The Pharos hora is the best-preserved example of ancient Greek parcellation in the entire Mediterranean. Walking along the straight lines that divide the land, as it was laid out by Ionic Greeks 2,400 years ago in Stari Grad Plain, is like travelling back in time. This route reveals valuable heritage that was preserved throughout the centuries and which recalls the ancient Illyrians and Hellenic civilisations. Stari Grad Plain and the Stari Grad historic town centre were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.