We leave the port behind us and enjoy a pleasant stroll to discover Zadar, a magnificent ancient city on the Adriatic coast that still maintains its artistic and architectural heritage fruit of long centuries of domination from the Romans and Venetians to the Ottoman Empire.
We visit the historic city centre, located on a small unique peninsula with its Roman street network flanked by amazing monuments and enchanting corners.
We visit the 9th-century Church of St. Donatus, one of the most important monuments in the city and one of the leading examples of Byzantine architecture in the whole of Dalmatia, as well as the Cathedral of St. Anastasia, built in the 12th century in the Italian Gothic style and home to the Saint’s relics.
In the Church of St. May, we admire the permanent exhibition of sacred art entitled “The Gold and Silver of Zadar” which displays amazing reliquaries, chalices, paintings, gold embroideries, lacework and miniatures retracing the city’s troubled history.
We then take in Zadar’s majestic fortifications with its monumental gates: the Land Gate, considered the best representation of the Renaissance era in the city, and the Sea Gate, which also dates back to the 16th centuries but still has an element of a previous triumphal Roman arch.
In the evocative Five Wells Square, we can see the wells that were built during the Turkish invasions to guarantee water supplies.
After our visit, we have some free time to explore the city at our own leisure before returning to the ship.