Pima Palace

Pima Palace occupies the eastern side of Flour Square. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century, probably after the great earthquake of 1667. The noble Pima family was mentioned in the first half of the 14th century, at the time of Rusin Pima and his sons Petar and Vita. The family had several prominent members: Jeronim Pima, a humanistic poet who lived at the beginning of the 17th century and who, as well as in Latin and Italian, wrote in the vernacular language; Ljudevit Pima, who lived in the middle of the 17th century and was a doctor of law, a professor and a vice-dean of the university in Padua. Many people of Kotor studied at this university after finishing grammar school in Kotor, which had been established in the 13th century; Bernard Pima, who lived in the mid-15th century and was a poet-humanist and poet laureate at the Roman Capitol.

Although Pima Palace dates from the 17th century, recent research has revealed the existence of an old medieval street, later modified, that used to pass by the rear part of the palace. In this part of the palace the remains of earlier phases of its construction with Romanesque and Gothic windows have been discovered.

Pima Palace was constructed in a combination of Renaissance and Baroque styles. The basic concept of the palace, dominated by a terraced porch with two archivolts flanking the main portal and an inner courtyard from which a system of staircases and galleries leads to the upper floors, is Renaissance. The Baroque elements are visible in the rendering of the architectural details on the main façade, especially a long balcony on the second floor, resting on 12 brackets. The main portal carries the coat-of-arms of the Pima family.

At the beginning of the 20th century, two floors were added above the central part of the palace. They were built for the purpose of housing a Nautical School of Kotor and were removed after 1979.

Source: Martinović Jovan, Sto kotorskih dragulja, Rijeka Crnojevića, 1995.