ON THE TRAIL OF THE CHARTER OF POVLJA

The church complex in Povlja is widely known for its important remnants of sacral architecture from Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The Benedictine monastery of St. John the Baptist emerged in the late 9^th or early 10^th century on the site of an Early Christian building complex (6^th-7^th century). It is one of the oldest of its kind in Croatia. The trail to the former Benedictine abbey leads along the olive-growing area of the villages of Sumartin, Selca, Novo Selo and Povlja, and features several important cultural assets of the island of Brač, including the pre-Romanesque Church of St. Nicholas (10^th century) in the Glavica area between Sumartin and Selca, and a Roman villa with an oil processing site (1^st-6^th century) at Bunje close to Novo Selo. This area was part of the Benedictine estate in the eastern part of Brač. It was recorded in the 1184 inventory of the abbey estate and also in the famous Charter of Povlja of 1250, the oldest preserved document written in Croatian using the Cyrillic alphabet.

• Start 43º 17’ 10.345” N / 16º 52’ 14.808” E
  Sumartin, next to Selca Tourism Office; go along the Riva towards the north
• 0.10 km go right, along the Riva
• 0.30 km turn left towards the Franciscan monastery and the Church of St. Martin
• 0.45 km turn left
• 0.60 km continue straight on
• 0.65 km turn right
• 1.00 km leave the asphalt and turn left at the crossroads
• 1.75 km continue straight on
• 2.15 km turn left
• 2.50 km continue straight on
• 3.60 km turn right
• 4.80 km turn left
• 5.60 km turn right 200 m towards Bunje (remnants of a Roman villa); return the same way to the gravel path
• 6.00 km turn right onto the gravel path
• 6.60 km continue straight on
• 8.00 km continue straight on
• 8.80 km arrival at an asphalt road; continue straight on for c. 400 m
• 9.22 km Parish Church of St. John the Baptist (Early Christian complex of a three-aisled basilica with baptistery) in Povlja

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