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00:01I'm on the trail of wonders to treasure.
00:06Precious clues from the past.
00:08She's full of sensuous promise.
00:11With unmissable experiences.
00:15I adore dolphins so much and they're playing with us.
00:19Hidden sights in unexpected destinations.
00:23No way. I've never seen anything like that before.
00:28Okay, ready? Let's go.
00:31I'm on a global voyage of discovery to explore our shared heritage
00:36and how our past shapes all of our lives.
00:41This time, I'm heading to southern Croatia.
00:47Through time, this stunning landscape has inspired people to do incredible things.
00:56History is waiting for us.
00:58Great!
01:00I can't quite believe they've let me down here.
01:05A place glittering with traditions.
01:09Jivoli! Jivoli!
01:10And where the gifts of the sea made history.
01:20The Stone Age knives!
01:23I mean, how awesome is that?
01:25Nestled on the eastern edge of the Adriatic, Croatia boasts a stunning shoreline stretching across 1,700 kilometres with over 1,000 islands.
01:46You can come here and take the rudder and be the captain.
01:52Okay. Unexpected, but alrighty.
01:55On its southern coast, the history-rich region of Dalmatia, where waterways have shaped lives for millennia.
02:05This is the way to live.
02:06This is the way to live. Am I doing okay, Alec?
02:11You don't need me anymore, Alec.
02:13I definitely, I definitely, definitely need him.
02:17Welcome to the wonderful treasures of Croatia.
02:29First, the intriguing island of Kortula.
02:35A luxurious setting for the TV blockbuster, Succession, where local legend claims medieval explorer Marco Polo was born.
02:45Kortula is home to layers of history, some long lost to the waves of the Adriatic.
02:57Dalmatia is made by the sea, but my investigations are actually going to start under the water because I've been tipped off.
03:04There is the most incredible excavation that's happening just over there.
03:10Marte Peridra and his team have been working here since 2021, when they discovered a mysterious, underwater, Stone Age world.
03:40This white area, this is the probes that we find a road. The road is going in that direction.
03:50A Stone Age road?
03:55Marte, why have they got a road in the Stone Age?
03:58Yeah, because they made artificial island with the coastline, and that road connects this settlement to the coast of Kortula.
04:08So it's a settlement, and they've made an artificial island in the Stone Age, but for protection or because they're trading here?
04:18We suppose that some kind of protection.
04:21Probably this settlement is focused on the maritime trading.
04:26They bring some stuff from Italy, from other destinations, and trade in the Eastern Age.
04:38So that's, you're marking out where it is?
04:41Yes, that is the marking.
04:45History is waiting for us.
04:47Great, great. What a great day.
04:50Okay, ready? Let's go.
04:59It's incredible to think that in 5000 BCE, all this would have stood above water.
05:24A stunning feat of engineering.
05:29The seabed is absolutely littered with clues.
05:33It's very difficult to think that in 10 minutes, you can figure.
05:34Because of this and one person, he's going to tear aрем imitability
05:36He's coming back off. I think he might have something.
05:37He's coming back up.
05:56I think he might have something.
06:03Have you got something?
06:04Yeah.
06:05We find some plinth blades.
06:08Oh.
06:09Is it OK to hold?
06:10Yes, yes.
06:11Carefully.
06:12No way.
06:13So this is for cutting.
06:16Yeah, for cutting.
06:17It's characteristic for a Neolithic.
06:19Yeah.
06:20And this, hang on a second.
06:22So this that I'm holding is probably around 7,000 years old.
06:26Yes, yes.
06:277,000 years.
06:28Look, look, look, look.
06:29So they'll use this maybe for slicing meat or leather or...
06:34Yeah, everything.
06:35Everything.
06:36Yeah.
06:37Wow.
06:39Oh, that is awesome.
06:41That's awesome.
06:42And there's a lot of this stuff down there.
06:44Yeah.
06:46Where is the flint coming from?
06:48Probably is from the Monte Gargano in Italy.
06:52That's what shows you that they're travelling and trading and...
06:55Yes.
06:56American trade and everything else.
06:57Amazing.
06:58So it's like a sophisticated Stone Age civilisation.
07:03Yeah.
07:04So look at this.
07:05Look, they're Stone Age knives.
07:07I mean, how awesome is that?
07:10From Italy.
07:11So they're like choosing to get this material.
07:15And that shows how sophisticated they are 7,000 years ago.
07:19But I'm slightly anxious about holding them.
07:21Can I give them back to you?
07:22No.
07:24I really do not want to drop those.
07:26Come on.
07:27Yeah.
07:28Thanks, Mother.
07:29Nice.
07:30Yeah.
07:31Nice, eh?
07:32This unique site completely alters our understanding of how Neolithic people in the region lived
07:41and what they were capable of.
07:43You've got beautiful, decorated pottery and bones that are being worked.
07:49And this, look at this.
07:50It's a little tiny.
07:51It's an arrowhead.
07:52Yeah.
07:53We find a lot of them.
07:54Where on the boat you described it as an artificial island.
07:57But I mean, that's incredible.
07:59That's in the Stone Age, in prehistory.
08:02Yes.
08:03It's a very good organisation.
08:04And how did you find it?
08:06How did you know it was here?
08:07We saw that on the satellite image.
08:11We saw something, but we didn't know, is this natural?
08:14Yeah.
08:15Or is it artificial?
08:17And after we died, we said, okay, yeah, this is something.
08:22Totally.
08:23This is something, yeah.
08:24Neolithic people are often thought to be nomadic hunters,
08:28but this site points to them living in sophisticated settlements
08:32and creating international trading networks.
08:35The evidence also reveals a taste for the finer things in life.
08:40My eye is being caught by these two things,
08:43and they're in water.
08:45This is seawater.
08:46Or is this desalinating them?
08:48Yes.
08:49So it's taking the salt out?
08:50Yes.
08:51Yes.
08:52But what are these two beautiful things?
08:53This is head of a needle.
08:55It's very good work, very precision work.
08:57You say a needle, but it looks more like something you'd use
09:00to decorate your hair.
09:01Yes.
09:02More like a hair pin.
09:03There's a food find that's totally unexpected.
09:07And these, I mean, I just almost dare not ask about these,
09:10because it looks to me like this is...
09:12Almonds.
09:14Because these layers are without oxygen.
09:17Yeah.
09:18And we can find all organic things.
09:20So we find a lot of bits of shells of the almond.
09:26Find three olive bits.
09:29Olive stones?
09:30Olive stones, yeah.
09:31Yeah, two of them.
09:32Yeah.
09:33You see that?
09:34Because this is rewriting the story.
09:35Yeah.
09:36Because what we're told is that olives don't arrive here until...
09:39From the Greek time.
09:40From the Greek time.
09:41Yeah, but it's not true.
09:42No.
09:43But I think that trade and communication was a bigger deal than we think.
09:48Yeah.
09:49But isn't that amazing to think of them here with their beautiful paved roads?
09:54Yeah.
09:55Enjoying almonds, olive oil, a little fresh olive, wearing something beautiful in their hair,
10:01you know, decorating themselves.
10:03Yeah.
10:04And they send it for radiocarbon date.
10:06Yeah.
10:07They're also 7,000 years old.
10:10It's just incredible.
10:12Because all of this put together, all these bits of evidence,
10:16it really is rewriting the story of what we think of civilization.
10:22Because it's starting much, much, much further back.
10:25Yes, yes.
10:26It's for the first time in Adriatic Sea.
10:28Yeah.
10:29Prehistoric seafarers.
10:30Yes.
10:31Well, honestly, I'm so grateful that you've let us come here
10:35and see all this as it's happening.
10:37And it's just, you know, it's astonishing.
10:40It's truly astonishing seeing this and seeing the place where it came from.
10:51There's one other prehistoric treasure on the island I just have to show you.
10:57It's just so awe-inspiring here, isn't it?
11:16Ah, so archaeologists who are working here, this is called the Great Cave,
11:21have discovered evidence of women and men living here as long as 18,000 years ago.
11:29So that's right back to the Ice Age.
11:32Which would have meant there'd have been people here at the same time as that community
11:35who are creating that beautiful settlement under the sea.
11:38So isn't that fabulous to think about that?
11:41Women and men carving out a prehistoric life for themselves, both ends of the island.
11:48The people who lived here were Stone Age communities, actually going right the way back to the Ice Age.
12:01And they were really pioneering. So, you know, they obviously traded in ships.
12:07They developed these amazing settlements for themselves.
12:10You know, they were, it was tough to live back then.
12:13But they're developing these rich, nourishing lives for themselves.
12:20And in many ways, leaving us the foundations of the lives that we live today.
12:41My next treasure on Croatia's Dalmatian coast is one of the best preserved defence systems in the world.
12:49The walls of Ston, designed to protect a natural wonder.
12:56700 years ago, the Republic of Ragusa thrived in Dalmatia.
13:02Their land territory was modest, but Ragusa became a maritime power,
13:07punching above its weight, combining cosmopolitan diplomacy with commerce across the waves.
13:15In 1399, the Republic acquired Peldrashack, a slender, mountainous peninsula.
13:23The rugged hills are dotted with ancient local burials, Roman villas,
13:29and some of the world's steepest vineyards, famous since antiquity for their potent red wines.
13:35But for medieval Ragusa, Ston was a vital source of a particular income.
13:43Because the shallow bay here provides what they called white gold.
13:48These have been in use since Roman times, which makes these salt pans the oldest working salt pans anywhere in Europe.
13:58Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Yeah. Is this your salt pan cat? Are you a Croatian salt pan cat?
14:08Yeah, I bet there have been cats here in Roman times as well. What a nice little fork.
14:09You cannot overstate how important salt was in pre-modern times.
14:10Without fridges, it was how you preserved everything.
14:11Without fridges, it was how you preserved everything.
14:12You cannot overstate how important salt was in pre-modern times.
14:17Salt alone brought in one-third of all income to the Republic of Ragusa.
14:24Our bodies don't produce salt, but we can't live without it.
14:25These salt pans are used to produce salt.
14:26You cannot overstate how important salt was in pre-modern times.
14:31You cannot overstate how important salt was in pre-modern times.
14:36Without fridges, it was how you preserved everything.
14:39Salt alone brought in one-third of all income to the Republic of Ragusa.
14:46Our bodies don't produce salt, but we can't live without it.
14:52These salt pans yield 500 tonnes every year.
14:57So, although this fruit of the sea represented a lot of cash,
15:02one pool was always reserved for the poor,
15:06so they too could access this life essential.
15:10You've got to come and have a look at this.
15:18Isn't it awesome?
15:20So, this is where all the salt is stored,
15:24and there were piles of salt like this going right back 2,000 years here.
15:29And do you know what?
15:31There's actually a direct connection between the Roman salt industry
15:34and our own lives,
15:36because the Latin word for salt is sal.
15:41And there's another word that they used, which was salarium.
15:44And a salarium was either money that was given to Roman soldiers
15:48to buy their salt rations,
15:50or a salarium was when Roman soldiers were actually paid in salt.
15:55And it gives us our word salary.
15:57So, it's like the ancient world reaching out across to us.
16:01And it's lovely here. It's really beautiful.
16:04It's very, sort of, timeless and calming and magical for some reason.
16:11It's lovely.
16:12By luck, the day we're here, there's a festival celebrating local food and wine.
16:37In vino veritas, in vino veritas, in vino veritas.
16:52Vino veritas, vino veritas.
16:55something else the um romans did here was start oyster farms because the oysters are
17:05thank you very much thank you very much i was that's big flattery not after i've had too much
17:15wine here i won't be thank you hi hello can i um can i get a glass of wine oh thank you
17:25thank you cheers are these your oysters
17:30because i'm a lifelong vegetarian so i'm definitely not gonna eat those oysters but
17:38our producer johnny just behind us loves an oyster thank you look at this johnny
17:46so i've never eaten meat or fish in my life but these are supposed to be exquisite and special
17:52let's try one yes go go for it well yeah oh my gosh
18:02yeah absolutely delicious yeah they are supposed to be absolutely delicious right but juicy
18:11griny everything you want from the most is it never having had one but they are supposed to be
18:16amazing here because there's um a river it's that mineral rich river that runs down to the salty water
18:22and combines and they're supposed to be are those the best oysters you've ever tasted
18:31roman emperors adored stone oysters taking them on campaign
18:35but for me there's another treat cake now you're talking this this one yeah yeah yeah why not
18:44i've heard about this thank you oh my gosh okay i am not going to be able to move this afternoon so this cape
18:55is traditional to stone and it's a mixture of pasta almonds other nuts and chocolate
19:03and it's probably got about 450 000 calories per forkful go for it
19:14it's like eating pasta covered in chocolate so i just want to wash that down with another little sip of wine
19:22the twin towns of stone and marley stone or little stone carefully controlled access to the wealth of the peninsula
19:42a crucial pinch point kept safe by some of the most gravity defying fortifications in europe
20:03so
20:15so
20:17so
20:33These walls, which are quite an adventure to climb,
20:38were built to protect the white gold that was produced in the salt pans down there.
20:43And they were started in the 14th century, and by the time they were finished,
20:46they were 7,000 metres long.
20:50So they're affectionately known as the Great Walls of Croatia,
20:54which actually isn't a bad name, because next to the Great Wall of China,
20:58these are one of the biggest defensive wall systems anywhere in the world.
21:06The walls of Ston held back invaders for over 500 years.
21:13Napoleon's army did breach them in 1806,
21:16but these resilient ramparts still stand strong.
21:22How amazing it's been to witness the natural treasures here in Ston,
21:28and then to experience this extraordinary, monumental, human-made wonder
21:34created to protect it all.
21:36My next stop transports us back to ancient Rome,
21:57and a time when this coastline was pivotal for the Roman Empire.
22:03It's Croatia's second-largest city, split.
22:08I'm just in time for another special day.
22:25So our time-night visit here on the feast day of St Dominus,
22:29who's the patron saint of the city.
22:31And so this only happens once a year,
22:34and it celebrates the fact that he was martyred
22:38and was a Christian who supported the church.
22:40I love the fact they've got incense,
22:42which is a very ancient Roman thing.
22:50Pretty apt, because Split was home
22:52to a game-changing Roman emperor, Diocletian.
23:00You can really get a sense of Diocletian's character
23:04from this exquisite gold coin
23:08that I am incredibly lucky to be allowed to hold.
23:12Just look at his expression.
23:13He's really ferocious,
23:15and he's got this close-cropped military-style beard
23:19with a laurel wreath in his hair.
23:21And then if you just look at the back of the coin there,
23:24there's an image of Jupiter, the king of the gods,
23:28brandishing a spear and holding Victoria,
23:32who was the goddess of victory, in his hand.
23:36And this was minted in the year 290 CE
23:39in what's now modern-day Turkey.
23:42And this was the time when Diocletian
23:44was also associating himself with Jupiter.
23:48So basically he was telling the world,
23:51like the king of the gods,
23:53I am super powerful, I'm indomitable,
23:57I'm pretty much omnipotent.
23:59He ruled the empire with an iron fist for 20 years,
24:06strengthening borders
24:06and unleashing a ferocious persecution of Christians.
24:11He also established the Tetrarchy,
24:14splitting the Roman Empire into east and west.
24:18Two emperors, the Augusti, shared rule,
24:21assisted by two junior leaders, the Caesars.
24:25In his early 60s, Diocletian did something extraordinary,
24:32something no emperor had ever done before or would do again.
24:36He voluntarily retired to this mega palace.
24:45This is the Golden Gate,
24:47and it gives you access inside Diocletian's original palace.
24:55His seaside retirement home was completed in 305 CE.
25:05Its design, rectangular, with towering walls,
25:09four entrance gates and 16 defensive towers,
25:13echoes the structure of a Roman military camp.
25:16With the empire under threat,
25:18the fortified palace was a safe haven,
25:21evolving into a city that still thrives today.
25:24In Diocletian's time,
25:33the palace was a fusion of luxury and military might,
25:37where he etched his legacy in stone.
25:41This is basically a grand entrance hall
25:53where Diocletian would welcome visitors from right across the empire
25:57and he'd be raised on a podium underneath a canopy.
26:00And it's really interesting because obviously I'm here in Croatia,
26:04but just look at where the materials come from.
26:06So these granite columns are from Asia Minor,
26:10what's now Turkey.
26:12And over there, there's a sphinx in Egypt.
26:16So even though he wasn't emperor anymore,
26:19it's all a reminder of Diocletian's enduring power
26:23within a vast, interconnected empire.
26:30Diocletian was not shy about coming forward.
26:34He'd wear purple robes and a golden crown,
26:37and he hated being in Rome
26:39because there they treated him like a human being,
26:43whereas here they treated him like a god.
26:46Archaeologists who are working here
27:04have lent me this awesome graphic map
27:08that they're producing of the city beneath the city.
27:12So this is the bay where I came in by boat.
27:14This is the whole city here,
27:16and they're literally mapping the city beneath the city.
27:19Look.
27:19So this is Diocletian's palace.
27:22Amazing.
27:23I spent the night just here,
27:27next to the vestibule.
27:29So where I'm heading is this little white mark here,
27:32which I think is just around this corner.
27:40This is right.
27:44I can't quite believe they've kept me down here.
28:02So what I'm standing in right now
28:05would have been a furnace,
28:07a huge kind of oven
28:09for heating hot air
28:11to go in here.
28:14Look.
28:14Look at this.
28:15I mean, look at that.
28:16That is just pure Diocletian period.
28:19Hang on.
28:19Here we go.
28:21So these are part of this hypercore system,
28:24so they're the bases of pillars.
28:25So actually, the floor would have been above me,
28:27and it heated air for the baths,
28:31Diocletian's baths.
28:33So where I'm standing right now
28:34is basically in his private apartments
28:38and his private chambers.
28:39So I'm experiencing
28:41the sensual pleasure
28:44enjoyed by a Roman emperor
28:471,700 years ago.
28:49And today,
28:53it's my home too.
29:05And if you're lucky enough
29:06to stay here,
29:08then you get to spend the night
29:09surrounded by the walls
29:11of a Roman emperor's palace.
29:13Spending a night
29:17within the palace walls
29:19gives you a unique connection
29:21to the past,
29:22while the bustling streets outside
29:25keep it alive
29:26with a big dose
29:29of Croatian hospitality
29:30thrown in.
29:32Hi.
29:33Hi.
29:34You need to try this.
29:35Typical from Croatia
29:36from this part of the zone.
29:38Yeah.
29:38And also you need to try this way.
29:40OK.
29:41Also typical from Croatia.
29:43Yeah.
29:43Yeah, also.
29:44OK.
29:45You are very kind.
29:47And I feel incredibly welcome
29:49here in Split.
29:50What do you say?
29:50Jivili.
29:51Jivili.
29:51Jivili.
29:52Jivili.
29:53Hmm.
29:56Nice.
29:57Lovely.
29:58Like this, huh?
29:59Yeah.
30:00I haven't got a hand,
30:01but I'll go and put it down.
30:02You have just two hands, huh?
30:04I think just two hands,
30:05just one mouth.
30:06Yeah, enjoy time.
30:07Ciao.
30:08So this happens a lot in Croatia.
30:11Randomly, people come up.
30:13I think they've seen the programmes
30:14and it's because they love history
30:15and they just kind of ply us
30:16with food and drink.
30:17It's hard to actually know about this.
30:18This is a walnut liqueur.
30:21It's very delicious.
30:22Come on in with a sneaky sip.
30:23And I might give this to the crew.
30:36So this extraordinary building here
30:39was originally Diocletian's mausoleum,
30:41but the incredible irony
30:44is that after his persecution
30:46of all of these Christians,
30:48that burial place
30:50has been changed into a church.
30:55To add insult to injury,
30:58it now honours St. Dominus,
31:01once the local bishop,
31:02who was killed
31:03on the orders of Diocletian himself.
31:07Diocletian's plans
31:08for a powerful pagan Roman Empire
31:11soon fell apart
31:13and his tetrarchy
31:15descended into brutal civil war.
31:21What a city this is.
31:24There's a great story
31:25because we're told that
31:26towards the end of his life,
31:27Diocletian became really keen
31:29on growing vegetables.
31:31And when imperial officers
31:33came to try to persuade him
31:34to become an emperor once more,
31:36he said,
31:37just tell all that
31:38to my cabbages.
31:40How could I possibly exchange
31:42a never-satisfied greed
31:45for all this peace?
31:50He may not have been able
31:51to save the old Roman religion
31:53or keep his empire together,
31:56but his palace
31:57and the extraordinary city
31:59that now lives within it
32:01are a legacy
32:02to be proud of.
32:21We're sailing right into
32:23Dubrovnik now
32:24and it's really interesting
32:25because there's a possibility
32:27that the name Croatia
32:28comes from a really ancient route,
32:31meaning one huge gas.
32:33And certainly through time,
32:35this coastline's protected
32:36the really rich interior
32:38of the country.
32:38So you get these amazing
32:40fortified cities
32:41all along the coastline
32:43and arguably Dubrovnik
32:45is the best.
32:46Yes, of course.
32:48It's a good idea.
32:49A fact.
32:49My final stop to Dubrovnik
32:58has been called
33:00the Pearl of the Adriatic
33:02where natural wonders
33:04were proudly protected
33:05and the gifts
33:07and the gifts of the earth
33:08traded.
33:10I can hear all the swallows
33:12coming in at the end
33:14of the day.
33:16Isn't that beautiful?
33:18And if there are any
33:19Game of Thrones fans
33:21out there,
33:22this is Blackwater Bay.
33:27This city's story
33:28begins with the sea,
33:30a haven for refugees
33:31from the turmoil
33:33following the fall
33:34of the Roman Empire.
33:35The city thrived,
33:38growing into a great port,
33:41Ragusa,
33:42the origin of the name
33:43of the medieval
33:44Republic of Ragusa
33:45that would flourish
33:46on the Dalmatian coast.
33:48By the 14th century,
33:50Ragusa,
33:52or Dubrovnik as we know it,
33:54rivalled its one-time master,
33:56Venice,
33:57just across the Adriatic.
33:58and the city
34:00is still revealing
34:02new secrets.
34:10This is a place
34:12that's full
34:13of hidden gems.
34:20Some of Dubrovnik's
34:22most precious treasures
34:23are hidden
34:24in the Cathedral
34:25of the Assumption of Mary,
34:27raised in 1667
34:30after an earthquake
34:31that devastated the city.
34:34I'm lucky to get in
34:36before the crowds,
34:38and I'm promised
34:40a bit of a surprise.
34:49Closely guarded within
34:50are extraordinary
34:52medieval relics,
34:54many a thousand years old.
35:02Including the arms
35:04and head
35:05of St. Blaise,
35:07the patron saint
35:08of Dubrovnik,
35:10encased in some
35:11of the silver
35:12and gold
35:12that this treasure city
35:14traded,
35:16helping to make it
35:17so rich.
35:18seismic activity here
35:39uncovered
35:40another marvel.
35:42This cathedral
35:47is just
35:47full of wonders,
35:49isn't it?
35:50But there was
35:51an earthquake here
35:52in 1979
35:53that revealed
35:54something
35:54truly astonishing.
35:57Hello,
35:57this is Yvonne.
35:58And Yvonne,
35:59hi, and Bethany,
36:00hi, thank you so much
36:01for coming.
36:02So,
36:02Yvonne's promised
36:03to reveal it to me,
36:05and I've got a funky feeling
36:06it's down here.
36:08Yeah,
36:08and let's go down
36:09and see.
36:09Archaeologist
36:12Yvonne Veeden
36:13is devoted
36:14to uncovering
36:15Dubrovnik's treasures.
36:17Yvonne,
36:18it's incredible.
36:18Is it okay
36:19for me to come in?
36:20Yeah, please do.
36:23Yvonne,
36:23this is
36:24totally incredible.
36:25So,
36:26we're kind of,
36:26what,
36:26two metres,
36:27three metres?
36:27Yeah,
36:28two and a half metres,
36:29yeah, at least.
36:32Down here,
36:34archaeologists
36:34discovered
36:35the cathedral
36:36had been rebuilt
36:37three times
36:39across the centuries
36:40with earliest remains
36:42dating back
36:43to the late Roman period.
36:45So,
36:46we are entering
36:47the main site,
36:48the main nave
36:49of the so-called
36:50Byzantine cathedral.
36:52So,
36:53they knew
36:53that there was
36:54something here
36:55from the 12th century,
36:56so it was kind of
36:56crusading time,
36:57but what we're
36:58standing on now
36:59goes centuries back
37:00before that.
37:01Yeah, centuries back,
37:01yeah, yeah.
37:01It's really cool.
37:03Is it okay
37:03to tread here?
37:04Yeah,
37:05just be careful
37:05about the curbs.
37:06I will,
37:07be careful about it.
37:07Oh, thank you very much.
37:09Yeah.
37:15But look,
37:16if I'm looking at that.
37:17Yeah,
37:17this is the ebbs.
37:19Yeah.
37:19And the bishop's chair,
37:20the bishop's cathedra,
37:21yes.
37:22And the fresco paintings,
37:23because this,
37:24all this cathedra
37:25was completely covered
37:26in frescos.
37:26But they're so fresh,
37:35those colours.
37:36Yeah, they are, really.
37:41But this is at least
37:43a thousand years old.
37:43At least a thousand years,
37:44exactly.
37:45It's really fascinating,
37:46this,
37:46because this pushes back
37:48the dating of Dubrovnik.
37:49It completely changes
37:50the story.
37:51It was said
37:51that these refugees
37:52came here
37:53and founded it,
37:53but this would have been
37:54earlier than that.
37:55Yeah, this goes centuries back
37:57and it's still
37:58an open question
37:59of debate
37:59among scholars
38:00about this first centuries
38:02of Dubrovnik.
38:02Yeah.
38:03But don't you love that
38:04about history?
38:05You get these little secrets
38:06that are revealed
38:07and then the whole story
38:10of the place changes.
38:10Yeah, it's like a circle
38:12of questions and answers
38:13all over again, yeah,
38:14because every answer
38:15gets you another question.
38:17Yeah, amazing.
38:18Thank you so much
38:19for letting me down here.
38:20You're welcome, yeah.
38:21Oh, awesome.
38:25Dubrovnik has been forged
38:33by its dynamic geography
38:35and has benefited
38:37from it too,
38:38all in abundant evidence
38:41on the tiny island
38:43of Lokrum,
38:44a short ferry ride
38:46from the city.
38:47It's just so peaceful here,
39:16and the plants
39:17are nuts, aren't they?
39:19And there's a reason
39:20for that.
39:21The Benedictine monks
39:23who were once here
39:24nourished foliage
39:26as a kind of act
39:27of worship to God
39:29and then centuries later
39:31this island
39:32sort of became
39:33a botanical scientific experiment
39:35when plants
39:36from Europe, Asia
39:38and Africa
39:38were all grown together
39:40and now they're
39:42beautifully entwined
39:43in this kind of
39:44glorious hymn
39:46to life.
39:56Over the centuries,
39:58many household names
39:59from history
40:00have found their way here.
40:01One of the people
40:06to experience
40:08all of this
40:08was a medieval
40:10king of England,
40:11no less,
40:12Richard the Lionheart,
40:13who came here
40:14in 1192
40:15on his way home
40:16from the Crusades.
40:18And the story goes,
40:19there was a terrible storm
40:21and his boats
40:22were shipwrecked
40:23along these shores
40:24that the island
40:25gave him sanctuary
40:26and so in fact
40:28he decided
40:29to found a church
40:31in this lovely place.
40:39It's just incredible
40:41thinking about
40:42everybody who's come here
40:44because it was
40:45such a thoroughfare
40:46and I'm loving it
40:48just sitting and looking
40:49at this now
40:49with other people,
40:51tourists and travellers
40:51and, you know,
40:53adventurers
40:53and crusaders even
40:55would have had
40:56the same experience.
40:57So, yeah,
40:58it's lovely being here.
40:59It's a beautiful place
41:00but it's got beautiful
41:01memories,
41:02this place too.
41:14Dubrovnik's freedom
41:15was ferociously protected.
41:17For over 500 years,
41:20the city's intimidating walls
41:21almost two kilometres long
41:24and up to six metres thick
41:25in places
41:26kept its people safe.
41:41And this inscription,
41:43which by the way
41:44is on what was the Red Keep
41:45in the Game of Thrones,
41:46pretty much says it all.
41:47So, it translates as
41:50freedom cannot be bought
41:52for all the gold
41:54in the world.
41:56That freedom
41:58was sorely tested
41:59from 1991
42:01when Dubrovnik
42:02was besieged
42:04by the Yugoslav
42:05People's Army
42:06during the Croatian
42:07War of Independence.
42:09Mihaila Skuric,
42:11who lived through
42:12that siege,
42:13is a champion
42:14of the city's heritage.
42:16You could not have
42:17a better view than this.
42:19It's amazing, isn't it?
42:21So brilliant
42:22to meet up here
42:23because you get
42:24such a sense
42:24of how the city's
42:25entwined with nature.
42:27Yes, it is.
42:28It's walled
42:29by its marvellous
42:30city walls
42:31but you see
42:32the gardens inside,
42:33you see there's
42:34even one vineyard
42:35and the sea,
42:38you know,
42:38it's all connected
42:39to the sea, isn't it?
42:40You can't actually
42:41picture it without it.
42:43And, you know,
42:43you're the same as me
42:44because as historians
42:46you can just imagine
42:47all the ships
42:48that would have come here
42:49trading salt
42:50and silver
42:51and silk.
42:53Yes, they brought
42:53so many goods
42:54to the city
42:55and so many news
42:56but what Dubrovnik kept
42:57was always its freedom
42:59and its legacy.
43:01Liberty is on the flag
43:03of Dubrovnik.
43:03Yes, it's the most
43:04important value
43:05that we inherited
43:06from our ancestors.
43:08For my generations
43:09it's very, very important
43:10because we know
43:11that it took
43:12so many skills
43:13and efforts
43:14to protect it
43:15and throughout
43:16the history
43:16people of Dubrovnik
43:18really made
43:19magnificent tasks
43:21of preserving it
43:23for future generations.
43:25Because you were
43:26a child here,
43:27weren't you,
43:27during the War
43:28of Independence?
43:29Yes, I was just
43:3011 years old
43:31and we all fled,
43:32you know,
43:32to Dubrovnik
43:33thinking that
43:35it would never
43:35be attacked
43:36but it was attacked,
43:38it was shelled
43:39and it was under siege
43:41for several months
43:42and many of our
43:43greatest monuments
43:44were damaged
43:46back then.
43:46You know,
43:47any building,
43:48it's not just a building,
43:49it carries memory
43:50and history
43:50and identity.
43:52It's important
43:53to save them,
43:54to restore them
43:55but for its
43:56cultural value
43:58but what means
43:59to us
44:00being its inheritors,
44:02it's the identity
44:03they give to us.
44:05So our city
44:06has provided
44:07so much to us
44:08and it still
44:09is doing
44:09the same job
44:10and it is
44:11the foundation
44:12of our being here.
44:14So it's a city
44:15to be cherished.
44:16You know,
44:17our city,
44:18Dubrovnik,
44:18has been actually
44:19like a member
44:20of our family.
44:21Honestly,
44:27just look
44:28at that place.
44:31Dubrovnik's
44:31a real reminder
44:32that when cities
44:33work with nature,
44:35they succeed
44:37and thanks
44:39to the persistent
44:40resilience
44:41of its citizens,
44:43even despite
44:44being pounded
44:45by earthquakes,
44:46this really
44:48is a pearl
44:48that hasn't
44:50just survived,
44:51it's thrived.
45:09The Adriatic
45:10has forged
45:12the spirits
45:13and the stories
45:14of Croatia
45:15and it feels
45:16as though
45:17these waves
45:18in this beautiful sea
45:19have beaten out
45:21this kind of
45:22vibrant narrative
45:23full of optimism
45:24and opportunity
45:25and inspiration
45:27and prosperity
45:28and sheer enjoyment
45:30that has nourished
45:32this place
45:33from the time
45:33of ancient seafarers
45:35right up until today.
45:39Here in Croatia,
45:41natural resources
45:42were celebrated
45:43and respected,
45:45fostering
45:46an expansive
45:47interconnectedness
45:48with the wider world,
45:50a testament
45:51to harmony
45:52between us,
45:54the land
45:54and the sea.
45:56and why
45:58andして
45:59the sea
46:03and the sea
46:05and the sea
46:06and the sea
46:07and the sea
46:16and the sea
46:18and the sea
46:20and the sea
46:20and even
46:21through the field
46:22sex
46:23andYU
46:23and the sea
46:24and particularly
46:24you
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