Konavle has been an Arcadian space since antiquity, shaped by the construction of country estates. Since the rugged high cliffs separate it from the sea, the slopes of the hills surrounding the fertile Konavle valley became the sites for the headquarters of estates, combining both residential and agricultural functions, leisure and labor on the estate.
At the beginning of the 15th century, Konavle became part of the small but powerful and freedom-loving Republic of Dubrovnik, which was then experiencing its greatest prosperity. The territory was purchased as a valuable agricultural area. With the establishment of peace and stability in this borderland, construction on noble estates intensified. Earlier stranjevi, economic buildings used for collecting, storing, processing, and distributing the estate’s harvest and products, were expanded with larger and more comfortable residential quarters, making stays at the country estates longer and more enjoyable.
The highest concentration of residential-agricultural structures in Konavle is in the southern lower part, especially in Čilipi, Močići, Komaji, and Radovčići. In Gornja Banda, the most densely built area was Pridvorje, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the administrative and residential building of the Rector’s Palace. Several estates were also built in Dubravka, Zastolje, Ljuta, Lovorno, and Mihanići. In nearly every settlement there are traces of a noble country estate, a stranj or country house dating back to the time of the Dubrovnik Republic.
These estates were strategically placed near main roads, allowing the owner to ride directly to the building on horseback, while also making it easier for peasants to transport harvests and goods to the nobleman. Within high enclosing walls, with a wide entrance portal, there were residential and agricultural buildings and a garden. All larger complexes also had a chapel.
The main building stood out with its size and the way its walls, doors and windows were finished. There was no standardized floor plan, though a central room could always be recognized, usually furnished with stone furniture, a built-in wall sink or a cupboard, and it was connected to in multiple ways to the interior and exterior parts of the estate.
Agricultural structures were arranged around the main building, single-story buildings made of roughly hewn stone blocks. These housed storerooms, wine cellars, mills, blacksmiths’ forges, stables, and barns. Every residential-agricultural complex had at least one cistern, often adorned with the noble family’s coat of arms. In Konavle’s Gornja Banda, where water sources were more abundant, estates were built near springs and streams, and some even had fishponds.
The chapel was usually located in the garden and was connected by a walkway, and it was the most lavishly decorated building in the complex. In addition to serving the owner, it was also accessible to the local population. The gardens featured stone-built soil beds, with pergola columns of various shapes. The most beautiful examples, such as Diklić’s terraces in Masješi (Čilipi) or Zlatarić’s estate in Radovčići, include a long promenade, a viewpoint running along the terrace edge where the garden is situated, or a smaller, elevated lookout at the end of the path, offering panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.
The residential-agricultural complexes of Konavle were undoubtedly centers for the development and exchange of humanist thought, as well as literary and scientific works. One notable example is the late Renaissance country estate in Radovčići, likely built in the late 16th century by Dubrovnik poet and humanist Dominko Zlatarić, which was later immortalized in the poetry of Didacus Pyrrhus Lusitanus (b. Isaia Koen) and Camillo Camilli.
Through the turbulent turns of history, especially with the fall of the Dubrovnik Republic in 1806, these estates suffered severe damage. Today, about 30 examples remain, most of them now mystical ruins that evoke the golden age of the Dubrovnik Republic.
By: Lucija Vuković