The “Bent Palace”

The “Bent Palace” is situated in the central part of Dobrota, about 4 km from Kotor. It was named the “Bent Palace” because of the unusual appearance of its main façade which is “broken” in its vertical axis, taking thus the form of an obtuse triangle. The palace acquired its present-day appearance at the turn of the 18th century thanks to the endeavour of Captain Anton Božov Radimir, who was one of the wealthiest captains in Boka Kotorska at the time. He was the owner of several ships and during the French rule in Boka Kotorska, he gave loans to the French administration for salt purchase. In the 1808 land register we find information that the palace was owned by Luka Markov Radimir and it was valued at 3000 Austrian forints.

The Radmiri family was among the most prominent families of Dobrota due to its wealth and the number of its members who were mariners. The family had 101 sea captains. The family possessed 44 sailing ships and 24 houses built at different locations, from Ljuta to Kotor. During the 18th and 19th centuries the most prominent members of the family were Božo Radimir (1738-1766), who had the title of a knight; Krsto Radov Radimir (1766-1832), who during Napoleonic times was awarded the order of the Legion of Honour; and Filip Tripov Radimir (1828-1901), who was awarded a diploma by the Russian Black Sea fleet during the Crimean war in 1854.

Through female line of inheritance, the palace passed to the Dabinović family. Its present-day owners are descendants of the ship-owner Božo Dabinović.

It front of the palace is a courtyard which separates it from the coastal road. The palace is a four-storey building, with an attic with a belvedere placed centrally at the junction of the two parts of the building.

The characteristic appearance of the façade of the “Bent Palace” was not created for aesthetic reasons but resulted from the extension of the palace. In the first phase of the palace’s construction, the preset-day north wing was built. The south wing was added later. Although the wings were built at different times they give the impression that the palace was built at once. This is emphasised by symmetrically placed windows, portals and balconies on the façades of the two wings, and by the centrally set belvedere. The second floors of the wings are decorated with balconies supported by stone brackets with carved decorations in the form of acanthus leaves. After the extension of the palace, the first floor was designed as “piano nobile” and had a Baroque layout, with “four rooms and a salon”.

On the ground floor is a ”konoba” (storeroom) with two entrances. In the rear part is a kitchen with utility rooms. Behind the palace there is a large courtyard enclosed by a high stone wall; beyond which, terrace gardens used to stretch.