What to see in Brac, an itinerary including the main places of interest on the Dalmatian island in Croatia, including Bol, with its magnificent beach, and Supetar, a charming medieval village.
Tourist information
With a name that translated into Italian means Brac, Brac is the largest island of Dalmatia, a renowned region of Croatia.
With a predominantly mountainous territory, the island is largely covered by woods, pines and olive groves.
Monte San Vito, in Croatian Vidova Gora, constitutes the highest point of the entire Dalmatian archipelago, with its 778 meters of altitude.
On the northern side of the island, where sandy beaches stretch, the profile of the coast is sweeter than the southern one.
The most famous beach is that of Bol, covered with gravel and bathed by crystalline sea, framed in a natural scenery of maritime pines which are almost a symbol of it.
Brac is famous for the white marble used to build prestigious buildings, including the Diocletian's Palace in Split, the White House in Washington, the Reichstag in Berlin and the seat of Parliament in Vienna.
On the island of Brac there are various interesting centers, including Supetar (San Pietro), the capital of the island, Sutivan (San Giovanni della Brazza), Milna (Milona), Bol, Pucisca, Postira and other enchanting places.
Supetar (San Pietro), located inside the bay of the same name in the northern part of the island, is a medieval town inserted in a beautiful natural environment.
In the historic center are the church of the Annunciation of Mary, with the bell tower and museum dating back to the eighteenth century.
Today's church is built on the foundations of the early Christian basilica dedicated to St. Peter.
Recommended readings- Istria: what to see in the largest Adriatic peninsula
- Meleda (Croatia): what to see on the island
- Korcula (Croatia): what to see on the island of Dalmatia
- Makarska (Croatia): what to see on the Riviera
- Bol, Supetar and Sutivan (Croatia): what to see on the island of Brac
Next to the neo-Byzantine Mausoleum of the Petrinovic family there are two early Christian sarcophagi and, under the cemetery, there are some remains of the "Roman villae rusticae".
Above the city is the 11th century church of St. Luka.
What see
Milna, located in the western part of the island of Brac, about 20 km south-west of Supetar, is a natural port and town characterized by harmonious architecture, with two-storey houses dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, belonging to the owners ships and their captains.
In fact, in Milna shipyards, sailing ships were built, and the typical Dalmatian ship called "Bracera" was built as a prototype, whose name derives from the Italian one of Brac, corresponding to the island of Brac.
Milna, founded in the sixteenth century, owes its development to the Cerinic family, who built the chapel of Santa Maria in this place.
Bol is a well-known tourist spot, located in the central part of the southern coast of the island.
This ancient town is famous for the beautiful beach of Zlatni rat, called the "golden horn", a strip of sand developed for many meters, perpendicular to the coast, which extending into the sea, changes its profile and orientation according to the sea currents.
Pucisca, a port and resort famous for the Brac stone, is located on the northern coast of the island.
Between Bol and Milna, on the sides of a rocky wall, in a small desert area, there is the hermitage of Blaca, a settlement built in the rock by the Glagolite monks of Poljica, who chose this inaccessible place as a refuge.
Once settled in the Ljubitovica cave, they built the church, completed in the sixteenth century, and the monastery, transforming the roughness of the rock into a pleasant architectural complex.
The hermitage houses a rich library, the archive, a small typography and the astronomical observatory, where the large telescope that belonged to the world-renowned astronomer Don Nikola Milićević, the last priest of Blaca, is kept.
Skrip is the oldest town on the island, where there are traces left by the Illyrians, Romans and Croats.
The island of Brac is easily accessible through a direct line of daily ferries, which connects Split to Supetar and Makarska to Sumartin.
Brac Airport is located 25 km from Supetar.
There are also maritime connections to the nearby islands of Hvar and Korcula.
