Owners and builders of palaces

Although the houses and palaces of Boka Kotorska are characterised by a certain simplicity and uniformity, each of them separately reflects the personal attitudes and wealth of its founder. The houses and palaces were always created through a joint endeavour of their commissioners / owners and the appointed builders.

The owners of the palaces represented the influential families of Boka Kotorska, while their builders / designers were either architects (domestic or foreign) or the owners themselves.

It is known that some of the most important Baroque complexes in Boka Kotorska were designed by Venetian architects, while some churches and fine architectural ensembles were created by architects from the adjacent trading and cultural centres of Dalmatia, with which Boka Kotorska has had close connections. However, for the majority of architectural ensembles and larger and minor palaces, it can be assumed that they were designed by their owners, usually seamen and merchants, who had a clear idea of what kind of houses they needed.

“There are many signs suggesting that the former seafarers of Boka Kotorska, being ship-owners and traders, were at the same time the architects of their houses. Of sober and practical mind, they also showed a refined sense for the layout of rooms and for the adequate positioning of the house on a plot.”²

We have good reason to believe that, for example, Pima and Grgurina Palaces in Kotor, Bujović and Smekja Palaces in Perast, Dabinović and Tripković Palaces in Dobrota, or Beskuća and Verona Palaces in Prčanj, were designed by architects whose names are lost to us, but whose style is recognisable. For one minor palace in Dobrota called “Kokotova kula” (Rooster’s Tower), we had indirect evidence of the architect’s plan in a now lost model of the palace.³

The best craftsmen, who had already proved their skill on some public, religious and private buildings, were always commissioned for the construction of the palaces.

² Milan Zloković, “Građanska arhitektura u Boki Kotorskoj u doba mletačke vlasti” (Civil Architecture in Boka Kotorska during the Venetian Rule)
³ Miloš Milošević, “Neke stilske odlike baroka u Boki Kotorskoj” (Features of the Baroque Style in Boka Kotorska)

The palaces were built using the best quality materials. All the houses and palaces in Boka were made of stone, i.e. limestone from the nearby quarries, while, without xception, all the secondary elements such as the frames around doors and windows, elements of balconies, outer staircases and balustrades on them, etc. were always made of Korčula stone, quarried on Vrnik Island, near Korčula in Croatia and transported to Boka Kotorska by ship. The reason for importing Korčula stone lies in the fact that the stone of the mountain massifs of Boka Kotorska is not workable, i.e. it cannot be easily and with precision worked to the desired shape. This local stone was usually used for walls, but when better quality and finer appearance of the wall structure was required, the stone from Strp was mainly used. In exceptional circumstances – financial situation permitting and where personal vanity of the owner was concerned – the stone of Korčula was used instead of the local stone, primarily for the main façade, which was regarded as the peak of architectural beauty that the building could attain, expressing at the same time the wealth of its owner. Examples of such palaces are Smekja Palace in Perast, Tripković Palace in Dobrota and Beskuća Palace in Prčanj.