Meleda (Croatia): what to see on the island


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What to see in Meleda, an island with particular characteristics, considered one of the most beautiful in Croatia and where the Mljet National Park is located.


Tourist information

Located in Croatia in Southern Dalmatia, near the Sabbioncello peninsula, the island of Meleda has a practically uncontaminated nature, with a territory almost totally covered by woods, characteristics that have made it a protected area, classified as a natural park.

Meleda, the Italian translation of Mljet, is a 37 km long island, which can be entirely crossed by taking a scenic road in about 55 minutes by car.


The internal landscape is mountainous, with forests that slowly degrade towards a sea very renowned for the transparency of the water.

The coast is almost entirely rocky, there are only a few small sandy beaches in the southern and eastern part of the island.

What see

Interesting are the remains of a Roman villa of the third-fourth century, located in Porto Palazzo, which constitute a testimony of the first Roman settlement on this island.


In addition, on an island located in the center of Lake Grande there is a monastery dedicated to Santa Maria di Meleda.

Some traces of early Christian churches have also been found, whose definitive destruction dates back to the Middle Ages, which occurred together with the cancellation of the entire inhabited village.

Some interpretations of biblical passages would suggest that the apostle Paul was shipwrecked in this place.


In particular, in the Acts of the Apostles, the Saint's shipwreck is told in a sea believed to be precisely the Adriatic Sea.

In the north-western area of ​​the island is the Mljet National Park, very important from a naturalistic point of view and classified national since 1960.

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

The vegetation is very varied, characterized by woods, in the southern area the sea creeps into the earth creating two salt lakes rich in shells, mussels, molluscs and oysters.

Also in the Mljet national park, where the asphalt road ends, which allows you to visit it in part with the autombile, a shaded path begins, immersed in the classic Mediterranean vegetation, along which you can go down to the sea at various points, make a invigorating bath and relax sunbathing on the rocks, in an atmosphere of absolute tranquility immersed in nature.

Mljet in Croatia - green island in blue Adriatic (March 2024)


Tags: Croatia
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