1936 On the Continent

scent of flowers far into the sea. The bay of Kotor has a grandeur of its own, its snowcapped cliffs falling sheer into a blue sunlit lake fringed in spring by almond blossom. The town of Dubrovnik, with its perfectly preserved grey battlements, its grim forts rising defiantly to the sky, and its ancient streets lined with stone palaces and houses, entirely transports the visitor, as if by magic, into a medieval atmosphere. It is difficult to know what to admire most in Dalmatia; the deep-blue, sunlit sea, the grandeurof the scenery, the luxuriousness of the vegetation, the warm climate, the art-treasures, or the fine, handsome Dalmatians.
Beautiful Architecture
    Architecturally, Dalmatia is a veritable treasure house. At Split, for instance, a whole quarter of the town is built into the massive remains of Diocletian’s palace, which culminates in a magnificent peristyle with Corinthian columns, a fine dome with wonderful wood reliefs, and the massive statue of Gregory of Nin by Jugoslavia’s world-famed sculptor Ivan Meštrovi. At Dubrovnik no building, from the thirteenth-century Franciscan and Dominican monasteries or the fine Rectorial palace to the smallest private house, is built of anything but stone, and no building is of a later date than the beginning of the eighteenth century. There is no style, Romance, Gothic, Renaissance or Baroque, which is not represented in Dalmatia. The Dubrovnik mint surpasses all by combining in its Romance-arched ground floor, its Renaissance and Baroque upper storeys no less than three distinct styles in fascinating and unique harmony.
    There is, indeed, hardly a town in Dalmatia but has delightful surprises lurking behind every corner, be it but a casement, a balcony, a door in wood-relief, a gargoyle, or just an artistic knocker. Nor is Dalmatian architecture a pure imitation of either Italian or Byzantine art. The fine cathedral at Šibenik, with its arched stone roof, is a precursor of the Renaissance style. Some of its forms are charming because of their unexpected homeliness. At Dubrovnik, for instance, the columns of the Franciscan monastery are supported neither by angels nor by elaborate leaf-work, but by nice, smiling, homely pigs! In addition, most churches possess paintings by great masters, either native or Italian, as, e.g., Raphael, Tintoretto, Titian, Tiepolo and Bassano.
    The climate, as if conscious that all this beauty needs a proper setting, revels in warmth and sunshine. It is the kind of sun which makes you realise the glory of existence, and which makes bathing not just an aquatic exercise but an exhilarating experience. There is no shade of tan which cannot be achieved within a week, though those who are unaccustomed to such a sunny climate are advised to curbtheir ambition. In the hot months, June to September, it is best to keep in the shade between noon and four o’clock, while those who sun-bathe should apply skin lotions if they wish to avoid the painful experience of not being able to sleep either on their backs or in the reverse position.
    A perfect day in Dalmatia is begun by an early morning bathe in a perfectly smooth sea, to which you can descend in your dressing gown. This may be followed by a long stroll along the cypress, olive and aloe covered coast, and an iced fruit drink before noon sipped luxuriously in the speckled shade of a palm tree. Then, after a good rest, and possibly another bathe, there is still the evening, when the air in the spring is laden with the sweet smell of date palms and wild flowers, when a silvery shimmer stretches for miles out to the sea, and gay, colourful throngs promenade along the illuminated alleys to the strains of music from the café terraces.
The Climate
    The climate is mild even in winter. True, there are a number of rainy days, yet there is no winter month in the south without its due share of sun, when you can take off not only your overcoat but also your jacket. The best proof of this is the fact that most people in the south have no stoves in their houses. And should there be a disappointing day—and there are no more than a score or so during the whole winter—they just wear warmer coats, foregather a little more in the cafés, and, if necessary, retire a little earlier to bed!
    No one will fail to find something enjoyable in Dalmatia. The nature lover will find not only a vegetation rich both in subtropical and temperate plants, such as cypresses, olives, figs, aloes, almonds, lemons,