Drago Palace

Drago Palace is situated on St. Tryphon’s Square. The palace belonged to the famous noble family Drago. Between the 13th and 18th centuries the family had many distinguished members active in the fields of culture and arts, and the economic and political life of Kotor. Drago Palace is situated on St. Tryphon’s Square. The palace belonged to the famous noble family Drago. Between the 13th and 18th centuries the family had many distinguished members active in the fields of culture and arts, and the economic and political life of Kotor. The family coat-of-arms with a dragon rearing up is carved on several spots above the portals and windows, as well as on the capitals supporting the vaults of a passage that leads from St. Tryphon Square to the entrance staircase on the north side.

The palace was adjoined by another palace (the present-day Bishop’s residence) built near the cathedral. In the first Notary Book of Kotor, covering the period from 1326 to 1337, we find information that Jelena, the daughter of the famous merchant Medoš Tomin Drago, bequeathed a large family house near the cathedral to Kotor’s Bishop Rajmund.

Drago Palace consists of two parts, the northern one built in late Gothic style of the 14th-15th century, and the southern one, facing St. Tryphon’s Square, rebuilt in Renaissance-Baroque style at the end of the 17th century. On the façade facing the square, above the vaulted passage, is a Renaissance window, which is surmounted by a carved angel with spreading wings. Above the angel, on the second floor, is an ornate two-light window in the Gothic style. The northern façade is decorated with a large trifora and monoforas on the second floor, and a monofora and the entrance portal which is reached by staircase on the first floor. After the earthquake of 1979 the northern façade was extensively restored, with special attention given to its decorative elements.

The Drago family died out at the beginning of the 19th century, after which the palace belonged to the Municipality of Kotor and served public purpose. For a long period, it was used as a nursery school and immediately before the earthquake of 1979 as an apartment house. Since the renovation after the earthquake, the palace has been housing the Regional Institute for Heritage Protection. During the reconstruction, the interior of the palace was restored with special attention, especially a large “Gothic salon” with a wooden ceiling, situated on the second floor. The salon is a finest example of Gothic architecture and decoration.

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