Vodice

This small Gothic church was built in 1402 and was dedicated to St. Cross in 1421 when it was a parish church. It represents a typical example of the rural sacral architecture. A valuable detail is the old Romanesque-Gothic holy-water font on the pillar, a unique specimen in this part of Dalmatia.

The church was built 1725 by Ivan Skok, a famous master of the Dalmatian Baroque. The chapel has a big altar, harmonious facade with a Baroque portal and a magnificent rosette. The side walls have oval Baroque windows. A famous painter of decorative frescos Eugenio Moretti Varese is the author of the altarpieces. The church was consecrated in 1760.

Vodice was developed next to the water springs. On the square, under the parish church, there used to be two wells around which the whole rural life was developed. From the upper well (closer to the parish church) drinkable water was taken, and the lower well contained water of less quality which was used for washing laundry and other household needs.

The panorama of Vodice is dominated by the Okit hill and the church of Our Lady of Carmel built on the foundations of an old small chapel. Today, the Way of the Cross leads to the hill with fourteen small chapels and each designates one station of the Way. The modern appearance of the church of Our Lady of Carmel is the work of Nikola Bašić, an architect from Zadar.

The island of Prvić, with its two villages, Prvić Luka and Šepurina which are connected by a road, was inhabited in 11th century from people who run away from Turks. The land on Prvić island was mostly owned by noble families from Šibenik who built country houses on the island. Among them is also the mansion of the famous Vrančić family.

In the centre of Šepurina, near the coast, there is The Church of St. Rocco or St. Helen built and consecrated in 1620. Inside the church, there is a wooden altar of St. Rocco, richly embellished with Baroque ornaments.

The Church of Our Lady’s Childbirth was built in 1479 and was raised by the Ambrozović fa­mily from Šibenik. It was expanded and renovated in 1878. There is one altar in the church, and there is a well in front of the church. The church is not in function nowadays.

The Church of Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in 1878 on the hill above the village. At the main facade there is an inscription: Hoc templum aedifigatum A. D. 1878. The church was restored twice, in 1898 and in 1938.

At the Faust Vrančić Memorial Centre, you can get to know the life and work of Faust Vrančić, a man whom the world today mostly remembers as the inventor of Homo Volans - the flying man, but he was a lot more. Take a look at the collection of the models of his inventions, some of which are real life-size, and his more important written works. The multimedia displays also provide educational games for the youngest visitors.

On this rich archaeological site from the pre-Roman and Roman times about a hundred tombs have been discovered, out of which some date back from the 4th century B.C. According to the found artefacts and records of the Roman writers, experts identify this settlement as Arausona, a Liburnian-Roman settlement mentioned by Pliny. Tombs of the older layers of necropolis date back from the 3rd to the 1st century B.C., and they were made under the Hellenistic influence. A complex of blocks of houses made of fine carpeted stone, joined with clay, and later with mortar was also found here. The settlement was surrounded by defensive walls, made from the fractal stone, and was divided by streets. Some buildings had water tanks incised into the bedrock for collecting the rain-water.

Beautiful, quiet, old, noble, stealing breath in front of every house. Solid, stone, steep streets, stone houses, each capturing attention with its particularity, still forming a harmonious, single whole story. It is a story of glitter and wealth that used to be, and laughter that once resounded along these streets. Population of Sepurine used to be greater than that of Vodice. Today unfortunately, it shares the destiny of all the places on the island. Prvić, with its two settlements, Sepurine and Prvić Luka, was first mentioned in the 11th century. It was substantially inhabited by people from Srima and Vodice who fled here in fear of Turks. In the 16th century, the island became a fashionable resort for Sibenik nobility, building their villas and summer residences on it.