ITALY - SLOVENIA - CROATIA - BOSNIA... ON THE ROAD.

It all begins already in the month of March, when my family and I decide to organise a car trip; by now we're used to this kind of on the road travel, in fact already in 2014 and 2015 we toured Spain by car. This year we'll head East; the first thing I booked was the return ferry that will bring us back to Italy from Dubrovnik, so as I said already in March I secured the tickets, and in the following months I personally booked all the hotels that will host us along the route. At last we set off, around 5.00 am everyone in the car, destination Vicenza; this is only a stop to shake off the tiredness of the journey, almost 800 Km. We arrive at the hotel and check in, then spend the whole afternoon by the pool, in the evening we decide to dine at the Roadhouse (a well-known fast food chain) and after dinner we return to the hotel.

The following morning, after breakfast, we reach Venice, leave our car at the Tronchetto Parking and with the elevated little train People Mover we reach Piazzale Roma. The lagoon city, as is well known, is unique in the world; we begin our visit crossing the Ponte della Costituzione, to be clear the bridge of discord, too modern in my view and almost impassable. Past the station we reach the Ponte degli Scalzi and leave the Grand Canal to slip into the little streets of the city; we pass the Church of San Giacomo dell'Orio, Santa Maria Mater Domini, cross the very small Ponte delle Tette, the Rialto Market, the Church of San Giacomo di Rialto and the famous Rialto Bridge with its very small shops on both sides.

We continue and reach Piazza San Marco, where thanks to the Venezia Unica (a tourist card) pre-purchased online we visit the Museo Correr, the Clock Tower, the Museo Civico di Venezia, the National Archaeological Museum, the Marciana Library and naturally the Basilica di San Marco, the city's main church. The current building is divided into three different levels, lower floor, terrace and domes; the Basilica is 76.5 metres long and 62.60 wide; in a city like Venice, which rests on sandy terrain, buildings tended to be built wide rather than tall, in order to have a broader base and give the structure a more balanced weight. The central dome is 43 metres high. The facade has two orders; one at ground level, marked by five large splayed portals leading to the inner atrium.

The second order forms a walkable terrace and has four blind arches plus a central one in which a loggia opens, housing the quadriga. After the Basilica we visit the Palazzo delle Prigioni and cross the famous Bridge of Sighs that leads to the Doge's Palace; the bridge in fact served as a passage for prisoners when they had to go from the prisons to the offices of the State Inquisitors to be judged. Once the visits are finished we reach the Tronchetto Parking, crossing the Grand Canal once again thanks to the Ponte dell'Accademia. Having retrieved the car we reach our Hotel in Quarto D'Altino and dine in a restaurant a few metres from it.

After July, "col bene che ti voglio" as Riccardo Del Turco sang, the long-awaited August arrives; we leave our hotel and also Italy and enter Slovenia; to do so you have to buy the famous vinjeta, that is an orange-coloured sticker to apply to the windscreen; the cost is truly ridiculous if we compare it with the Italian motorway cost, in fact with just 15.00 euros you can travel without limits on the whole Slovenian motorway network for seven consecutive days. Our first stop in Slovenia is the Postojna Caves (Postojnska jama), a good 21 Km. of galleries, the most extensive in the entire Karst area and the most visited in Europe; the caverns are rich in stalagmites and stalactites, the internal temperature is almost constant at about 8 degrees.

We put on our jackets and go in; the first part of the caves can be visited by boarding an electric little train that leaves us in their heart, then we continue on foot, always accompanied by a guide who illustrates and explains the unequalled wonders we witness. As for the Fauna, the most famous inhabitant of the caves is the Proteus; this small amphibian has many characteristics, in fact it's the only one of its species to live in total absence of light and it is totally depigmented. We board the little train again, which takes us near the exit. After the Caves we reach the Castle of Postojna, or Predjama Castle, in the municipality of Postojna 9 km. away; we reach it thanks to the bus provided by the park, included in the combined Caves+Castle ticket; the construction dates back to 1300; at the time these lands belonged to Italy.

The Castle was considered impregnable, being situated at the shelter of a karst cave on a rock face 123 metres high, and it was the refuge of the knight Erasmus; some rooms of the castle, however, were slightly more exposed and thanks to the betrayal of a servant the troops managed to strike Erasmus dead and capture the castle. After the visit the Bus takes us back to the car park, we retrieve the car and leave Postojna to reach, 53 km. to the north-east, the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana. This city has 287 thousand inhabitants and is the largest in all of Slovenia, considered the cultural, scientific, administrative and political heart of the whole country; it arose along the Ljubljanica river, its historic centre kept intact over time is very pretty.

We leave our things at the hotel and reach the medieval Castle at the top of the hill that dominates the entire historic centre; we reach the top thanks to a small funicular; the building was entirely rebuilt in the 60s; in the bases of the current walls some traces of a castle dating back to the twelfth century are still visible; the ancient castle that stood here was the residence of the Margraves, then of the Dukes of Carinthia. We pop back into the Hotel for a moment, just the time to freshen up and change, then we go out for dinner. In the evening Ljubljana is truly fantastic; the ancient buildings light up and along the riverbanks many street artists give free rein to their passions, the many venues swarm with people; you have to hurry to find a place. The first day in Slovenia ends in the best possible way, savouring some local speciality.

The following morning we reach by car the Slovenian railway Museum set up in an old industrial site. Here we visit a collection of old steam locomotives, which includes some rare examples. Besides the locomotives we admire a vast collection of equipment and various tools as well as telegraphs, telephones, teleprinters and radio stations. We leave the museum and reach the Ljubljana Zoo; the area of almost 20 hectares is in a natural habitat on the southern slope of the Roznik hill. The zoo was founded in 1949 and was located in the city centre, later moved to its current site and enriched with new species over the years; it currently houses 119 species of animals. We return to the hotel, leave the car and continue our tour of the city's historic centre.

We reach the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, the only one in the Capital; its construction dates between 1701 and 1706; the building is in Baroque style; inside we admire many paintings made between 1703 and 1723 by the artist Giulio Quaglio. During our gentle stroll we admire the Dragon Bridge and the Triple Bridge, then we reach the riverbank and treat ourselves to a boat trip, enjoying the sunset. Our second day in Ljubljana also ends with a dinner near the river, then we return to the hotel. The following morning after breakfast we leave Ljubljana and also Slovenia, continuing our journey toward Zagreb, another nation, another capital; with Zagreb we begin our visit of Croatia.

This city has 800 thousand inhabitants; we reach our hotel close to the historic centre and after check-in we immediately begin visiting the city; we reach the cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and to the two Kings Stephen I and Ladislaus I; the church is the most important place of worship in the country. Originally built in medieval times, the cathedral holds a treasure of inestimable value with objects dating from the eleventh to the nineteenth century. In it rest the remains of numerous protagonists of Croatian history. The construction of the cathedral began in 1093 and was completed only in 1217; in 1880 the cathedral was seriously damaged by the earthquake that struck the city and therefore partly rebuilt in neo-Gothic style.

A few metres from the cathedral is the characteristic Dolac market; even from afar the sight is remarkable, hundreds of umbrellas rigorously all of bright red colour. In this market it's possible to find everything to do with food - fish, meat, vegetables, cereals etc. - honestly the level of hygiene leaves a little to be desired. We leave the market and reach in the immediate vicinity the city's main square, that is Josip Jelacic Square, dedicated indeed to Count Josip Jelacic, who became known for a series of military campaigns against the revolutionary forces in 1848 and for having supported the abolition of serfdom in Croatia; at its centre indeed there is a large statue portraying the Count on horseback. It's now lunchtime and we stop at one of the many pizzerias for a break and to take the edge off the high temperatures of a truly scorching summer.

In the afternoon we treat ourselves to a splendid view over the city and go up to the 16th floor of the Zagreb360 panoramic tower; having reached the top we admire the whole city, its main streets and its squares; stretching our gaze east we see the mountains of Moslavina and to the west the Zumberak mountains. We return to street level and walk toward the Museum of Illusions at Ilica 72; the museum is spread over two floors of an ancient building, a real treat for young and old. We retrace our steps and reach the legendary Funicular, the oldest means of public passenger transport in Zagreb, recognised as a cultural monument and to this day preserving its original exterior appearance and construction structure.

This little funicular links the lower city to the upper part; in reality the height difference is truly minimal; you could easily reach the upper part of the city via the stairs at the sides of the funicular, but we'd like to say "we tried it", so all aboard. As soon as we get off the funicular we find ourselves in front of the Lotrscak Tower, an ancient tower currently used as a viewpoint. A few metres from it is the parish church of the old city Crkva sv. Mark, the church of Saint Mark, recognisable also thanks to the particular roof covered with tiles representing the coat of arms of Zagreb (white castle on a red background) and the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.

It's almost dinner time; in Zagreb there is a genuine food street, Ivana Tkalcica; on this street the only establishments present are pizzerias, bars and above all restaurants; we stop at one of them and have dinner. The following morning we visit the other part of the city, always starting from Josip Jelacic Square; we walk the whole of the famous horseshoe, a group of gardens that extends south, cuts west and rises north, forming a squared horseshoe for a total length of 2.5 km. In order we find Park Zrinjevac, Park Josipa Jurja Strossmayera, inside which is the academy of sciences and arts housing the Strossmayerova gallery, a permanent exhibition of works of art that belonged to Bishop Strossmayer, from whom it takes its name.

Next we find the Ledeni park and inside it the Art Pavilion, a pavilion used as an exhibition gallery with an area of 600 m2; over its history the gallery has organised about 700 exhibitions with artists ranging from the Earth Group collective to George Grosz, Henry Moore, Auguste Rodin, Andy Warhol, Mimmo Rotella, Joan Miro, Auguste Rodin, Alberto Giacometti and many others. Our walk south ends; in front of the Ledeni park is the central station of Zagreb; we turn east and arrive at the city's Botanical Garden. The garden was founded in 1889 by Antun Heinz, a professor at the University of Zagreb, and opened to the public in 1891; it is part of the Faculty of Science. It has an area of 5 hectares and houses over 10,000 species of plants from all over the world, including 1,800 exotic species. Inside there are also large ponds for aquatic plants.

We leave the garden and head back north to visit the last straight of the so-called "horseshoe"; in the first of the three remaining stretches is the State Archive and the Faculty of chemical engineering and technology, immediately after is the academy of dramatic art and the Ethnographic Museum. In the last part is the Croatian National Theatre of Zagreb; we've walked almost three km.; considering the high temperature and the time, we decide to return to the hotel to cool off for a moment, then go out for dinner, returning to the already mentioned food road. The next day we leave Zagreb and reach the famous Plitvice Lakes; we arrive at our hotel situated a few dozen metres from entrance 2 of the park, leave our things and begin our visit.

The park is in the mountain complex of Licka Pljesivica, in a territory of dense forests; the whole area occupies a surface of 33,000 hectares and includes 16 lakes in succession, linked to each other by waterfalls and divided into Upper Lakes and Lower Lakes according to their latitude. Within the park there are also numerous caves, only a small part of which is accessible. The park's woods are populated by 157 species of birds, 50 species of mammals, 321 species of Lepidoptera (76 butterflies and 245 moths) and other animals, among them the brown bear, the wild boar, the wolf, the lynx and the roe deer. In 1979 the Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

To discover this national park in depth you'd need more than a day, but in any case, considering that we arrived around 10.00 and leave at closing time, that is 18.30, we can consider ourselves satisfied; we return to the hotel and after freshening up we reach an unavoidable destination if you pass through these areas, that is a dinner at Licka Kuca, a national restaurant unique of its kind, which recreates the typical atmosphere of the houses of the Lika; the "Licka kuca" was built in 1972 as a special place, where guests are offered a rich variety of native dishes. Right in the centre of the restaurant is an open-hearth fireplace, where lamb is roasted on a spit, and where other food specialities from the Lika are prepared "under the iron bell". The restaurant also houses a variety of typical objects used in the past by the families of the Lika. After dinner we return to the hotel.

The following day we set off for Zadar, 120 km. further south, the first seaside place on our trip in Croatia. Zadar, as it is pronounced in Croatian, has 75 thousand inhabitants; it is the historic capital of Dalmatia, later superseded by Split; this city has a rich history behind it. During the Second World War it was severely hit by air raids; following the peace treaty of 1947 it was officially annexed to Yugoslavia. Only since 1991 has it been part of Croatia, and today it is the capital of the Zadar region, a university and archbishopric seat. Having arrived in Zadar we check in and leave the car; we walk toward the city's historic centre, gathered within the encircling walls; we enter through the Land Gate erected in 1543 in the full Venetian period, in fact the lion of Saint Mark can be seen in the centre.

Immediately on the right is the Square of the 5 wells, which in ancient times served as a cistern for drinking water reserves. Continuing a little further on we find, in order, the Natural History Museum, trg Narodni (Square of the Lords) where the Town Hall is, and then the famous church of Saint Donatus, the most visited and photographed in Zadar. It was probably erected in the ninth century on the area of the ancient Roman forum at the initiative of the then bishop Donatus, who dedicated it to the Trinity. In 1798 it was deconsecrated and used as a military warehouse until 1887, when it became the seat of the city's archaeological museum. Freed from the surrounding buildings following the bombing of the Second World War, it is today used as an auditorium for concerts and conferences.

We visit the Cathedral of Saint Anastasia that stands beside it; it is the city's main place of worship and is considered the most beautiful in all of Dalmatia. Built in the ninth century, it is a fine example of Italian Romanesque, of Pisan-Apulian style and in luminous Istrian stone. The interior of the church is particularly monumental; the main nave is three times wider than the side naves and is divided by alternating columns and pillars. The presbytery, below which is the crypt dating from the twelfth century, is slightly raised and has a finely worked wooden stall in flamboyant Gothic style. The ciborium, dating from 1322, rises above the main altar and the stone archbishop's seat. It's now lunchtime; we stop at a bar and nibble something; we prefer to have our main meal in the evening.

We continue our visit of Zadar and arrive at the last part of the historic centre; here is the famous Sea Organ, a work of engineering that consists of steps with slots that act almost as a breakwater; every time the wave crashes against the water slipping into the slots it emits a sound that comes out of the holes in the pavement of the seafront. Beside the Sea Organ is the Greeting to the Sun, a circle of solar panels set into the ground that all day long absorb sunlight and at night light up, raising a beam of light toward the sky. This area of Zadar is very crowded, especially at sunset time; since we're almost there we linger in the area, enjoy the sunset and immediately afterwards the artificial sunbeam. After these spectacles, natural and otherwise, we return to the little streets for dinner.

To reach our accommodation we take advantage of a very short trip in a little boat that lets us reach the other bank without having to redo the whole circuit through the Land Gate. The next day another spectacle of nature awaits us, the Krka National Park, 80 Km. further south, and just 15 Km. from the coast. To reach the Park you can opt for the car park near Lazovac, where a bus of the park authority takes visitors directly to the entrance, or, as we did, reach the little town of Scardona, leave the car and reach the park by ferry. The Park was established in 1985 and is the seventh National Park of Croatia; it is famous for its waterfalls of varying height that cover a total drop of 45 metres; one of the most famous, as well as the largest, is the Skradinski buk waterfall.

The Krka park has a rich fauna and great biodiversity: 18 species of fish, 222 species of birds, 18 different species of bat, reptiles and amphibians for a total of about 860 species. After visiting a large part of the natural beauties of this wonderful park, walking along the paths, we get tickets and head to the boarding pier to reach Lake Visovac, situated between the Roski slap waterfalls, the northernmost in the whole park, and those of Scardona. In the middle of the lake is a small island, on which stand a convent of Franciscan friars, a church and a museum. The excursion includes a visit to the island and then a visit to the Roski slap waterfall, where we stop for about an hour and have a swim. After drying off we go back aboard the ferry and retrace the route in reverse, then reach the other ferry that will take us to the park exit and subsequently reach the car.

Our next stop is Split, where we arrive in the late afternoon; we meet the owner of our accommodation, a beautiful apartment of wood and natural stone; we leave our things and after a nice freshening up we reach the city centre, where, after a short stroll, we stop for dinner. The following day after breakfast we begin our visit of Split, capital of the Split-Dalmatia region, the main centre of Dalmatia which, with its 180,000 inhabitants, is the second city of the country after the capital Zagreb. Split is also a university and archbishopric seat. The city was founded as a Syracusan colony, later became a Roman city, developed around the sumptuous Palace of the emperor Diocletian, and it's precisely there that we go. Diocletian's Palace is the cultural site of greatest interest, beauty and charm, as testified by its nomination as a UNESCO heritage site.

Commissioned by the emperor Diocletian on the eve of 300 BC as a residence in which to spend the last years of his life, it is a splendid fortress built with the white stones of the Island of Brac. Its walls surround today's historic centre of the city and it's possible to access it through four gates. We enter through the golden gate, where the gigantic statue of Gregory of Nin, Bishop of the city, stands; the sculpture was made in 1929 by Ivan Mestrovic; tradition has it that touching his enormous thumb brings luck, and like Peppino De Filippo's famous comedy "Non e vero ma ci credo", we touch it. Inside the historic centre, alleys, buildings, bars and restaurants make the atmosphere truly unique.

We arrive in Peristil Square; on our right we notice the very small church of San Rocco, currently a tourist information centre; in front of us the characteristic square surrounded by tiers on which comfortable red cushions are placed, where we linger to look at this fantastic open-air museum. We pass the colonnade on our right and visit the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, which rises in the certainly oldest building - the mausoleum of the Roman emperor Diocletian. In the middle of the seventh century the emperor's mausoleum, persecutor of Christians, became a cathedral in which the places of honour were reserved for the altars with the relics of Saint Domnius and Saint Anastasius, martyrs executed in nearby Salona. The outer octagon of the mausoleum was surrounded by a portico (peripteros) with 24 columns. Its interior is circular in plan with four semicircular and four rectangular niches.

In the centre was placed the sarcophagus of Diocletian, which was later destroyed. The niches are surmounted by eight Corinthian columns of red granite; above them, another eight smaller columns. The relief of the frieze that runs all around depicts hunting Erotes, masks and human heads. Of particular interest are two medallions with ribbons in which archaeologists and Split tradition recognise portraits of Diocletian and his wife Prisca. The construction of the dome is interesting, made with bricks laid fan-wise in its lower part and circularly in the upper part. The dome shone thanks to a glittering mosaic, like that of the Vestibule. Today the cathedral is above all a liturgical place whose thousand-year continuity is attested by the Sunday masses and by the renewed splendour of the procession on the day of the city's patron, Saint Domnius, on 7 May.

Among the most important elements of the cathedral are its doors, which in 1214 the Split native Andrija Buvina carved in walnut, depicting in 14 panels of each door the scenes of the Gospel, from the Annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the resurrection of Christ. To the left of the entrance is a hexagonal pulpit of the thirteenth century, made of precious green porphyry, in the past completely gilded. The right side altar was consecrated to Saint Domnius, bishop and Salonitan martyr. Its ciborium was sculpted in 1427 by Bonino da Milano in late Gothic style, and in 1429 the Split painter Dujam Vuskovic adorned the altar with frescoes of the four evangelists. The left side altar, consecrated to the second patron of Split, the Salonitan martyr, the dyer Anastasius of Aquileia, was made in 1448 by Juraj Dalmatinac (Giorgio the Dalmatian), the greatest builder and sculptor of his time.

Particularly beautiful is the central relief on the sarcophagus with the depiction of the Flagellation of Christ, where the sculptor portrays Christ at the mercy of suffering and pain. The main altar was erected between 1685 and 1689. In the northern niche is the altar made by the Venetian sculptor Morlaiter, dating from 1767, into which three years later the relics of Saint Domnius were transferred from Bonino's altar. The most important work in the cathedral's Baroque choir are the wooden backs of the stalls carved in the first half of the thirteenth century, which were originally placed in front of the main altar. The cathedral's bell tower is 57 metres high and is the most original medieval Dalmatian construction, begun in the thirteenth century. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the bell tower was completely restored and considerably modified.

We climb the staircase that leads to the top of the bell tower and enjoy the beautiful panorama of the whole city. The summer of 2017 will surely be remembered for its muggy heat; we decide to go back to our room for a couple of hours to freshen up and rest; in the afternoon we return to the centre and go to the city's Archaeological Museum, considered the oldest in Croatia (1820); in the museum are exhibited objects dating from the Roman and Christian period, numerous sculptures inspired by the mythology of the Illyrians, as well as a rich collection of medieval coins and gems. It also holds a large library with about 30,000 books relating to the history of the archaeology of Dalmatia.

After the Museum we leave the historic centre and treat ourselves to a beautiful walk along the Riva seafront, recently renovated; we linger to admire the sunset and then continue along via Marmontova, a beautiful street that runs the entire length of the west side of the historic centre. Once the visits are finished we stop for dinner at one of the many restaurants; the atmosphere is fantastic and finally in the evening the air becomes pleasant; once dinner is over we return to our apartment. We're halfway through our holiday; the following day we have to reach Medjugorje in Bosnia but first we treat ourselves to a visit to the town of Trogir (Trau), going back 25 Km. toward Zadar. Trogir is considered one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Venetian cities of the whole of Dalmatia.

It has only 13,000 inhabitants and preserves numerous works of art; the town is linked to the island of Bua by a swing bridge. We leave the car in a public car park and reach the heart of the historic centre. We reach Radovanov Square where the Cathedral of Saint Lawrence stands, built starting from 1213 on the foundations of the previous Cathedral; for the visit you pay a modest entrance fee that also allows you to climb the bell tower. In the same square are also the Loggia and the Clock Tower. After the Cathedral we continue strolling through the very small alleys of the centre; we stop for an aperitif and then leave the town to continue our journey toward Medjugorje, 170 km. away.

We take the A1 motorway and cross the border between Croatia and Bosnia with no small difficulty; the checks are truly slow; we nonetheless reach Medjugorje before evening; we settle into our hotel, a structure immersed in greenery at the gates of the town; the structure is part of a sports centre with gym, football pitches, swimming pools and tennis courts. In the evening we reach the centre of Medjugorje, that is the church of Saint James; the first construction dates back to 1892 and was finished five years later; it deteriorated in a short time as it was built on unstable ground. The current church was completed and blessed on 19 January 1969. With the first apparitions and the arrival of the numerous pilgrims, many modifications and constructions were needed in the surroundings of the church.

On the square has stood since 1987 a white statue of the Queen of Peace, made of Carrara marble by the Italian artist Dino Felici, which has become one of the symbols of the sanctuary. Pilgrims who wish to devote part of their time to personal prayer and to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament can do so in the Adoration chapel, built in 1991, located on the left side as you look at the church. The chapel is open all day and on the 25th of the month also all night, and it's possible to do silent night Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We dine near the parish and return to the hotel.

The following morning, at 6.30 sharp, we wake up, and after an abundant breakfast we reach by car the lowest area of Mount Crnica, which overlooks the hamlet of Bijakovici, where the six visionaries lived at the time of the first apparitions in 1981, in the locality of Podbrdo, which means precisely "below the Hill". The most common devotion for pilgrims who climb the hill is that of praying the Holy Rosary and meditating on its mysteries. To facilitate this contemplation, over the years the Podbrdo path has been enriched with 15 bronze panels depicting the mysteries of joy, sorrow and glory. I don't express myself in any way on whether or not to believe in the apparitions; everyone is free to live their own religion as they see best. We equip ourselves with caps and go-pros and begin our climb.

(video address: We return to the hotel to rid ourselves of the sweat and dust raised by the reddish soil that characterises this hill. In the late afternoon we go to the church of Saint James, thus completing this day dedicated to Our Lady of Medjugorje. The next day we reach Mostar, 30 km. to the North-East. The name Mostar derives from its "old bridge" (the Stari Most), the country's main tourist attraction, and from the towers on the two banks, called the "keepers of the bridge" (mostari), which together with the surrounding area was recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2005. The city is built along the Neretva river and with its 115,000 inhabitants is the fourth city of the country.

We leave the car in a car park and begin our visit; unfortunately what we notice immediately are the marks left by the bombing that took place between 1992 and 1993, when the city suffered nine months of siege by the Serbian and Montenegrin troops; several abandoned buildings show clear signs of machine-gun fire; numerous little cemeteries are also scattered around the city, practically one for each district. We enter the Stari Grad (old town) crossing precisely the famous Stari Most (old bridge); right in the centre of it there are young men who, in exchange for a few Bosnian Marks, dive into the river below. The Stari Most is an Ottoman bridge built in 1600; it was completely destroyed following the bombing on the morning of 09 November 1993; it was rebuilt immediately after the end of hostilities and finished on 22 July 2004.

The bridge is humpbacked, 4 metres wide and 30 long, dominating the river from a height of 24 metres. We continue along a very narrow alley full of shops with every kind of souvenir (including bullets, disused bombs and gas masks); we stop to drink something in a place carved out of a cave, complete with a gallery that reaches up to the street above. A few metres further on, on the left, stands the Koski Mehmed-Pasha Mosque, built at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Koski Mehmed-Pasha. From the minaret, just five metres from the Neretva river, you enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the city. The atmosphere inside the courtyard is truly welcoming and offers us a pleasant and relaxing break in a unique setting. We retrace our steps and leave Mostar; back at the Hotel in Medjugorje we decide to spend the whole afternoon by the pool.

In the evening we go out for dinner, a stroll to buy a little statue of the Madonna and then back to the hotel. Thus ends our stay in Medjugorje and in Bosnia. The following day we arm ourselves with patience for the usual checks and cross the border with Croatia. Two weeks have passed since our departure; we've moved frequently and visited many fascinating places; this last week we'll spend in total relaxation and fun at a holiday village in Dubrovnik, sea, pool, and naturally a visit to the city won't be missing.

We arrive at the establishment and after check-in we begin exploring it; the village is located north-west of the city on the Babin kuk peninsula; here there are many other accommodation facilities, four of them belonging to the same hotel group as ours, and thanks to the formula we chose we can move freely between the various villages and use the services made available to guests. We spend the entire day following our arrival at the establishment, passing the morning at the beach at Copacabana beach and the afternoon by the pool. The following day, 14 August, we decide to visit the historic centre of Dubrovnik, which is only 4 km from our village; we reach the car park opposite the entrance of Porta Pile, pass the walls and notice on our right the great Onofrio fountain.

It was built in 1438 by the Neapolitan builder Onofrio Giordano, also known as Onofrio della Cava, with whom the Republic had signed a contract for the construction of the city aqueduct. On the left, instead, is the staircase giving access to the upper part of the walls; the queue to access it is considerable so we decide to give it a miss, also because the heat is at the limit of endurance and there is no shade on the walls. We continue instead with the visit of the church of San Salvatore; near the Franciscan Convent, the church was commissioned in 1520 by the city senate as thanks for having spared Ragusa from the earthquake; an inscription on the building's facade recalls it. The church, spared by the subsequent earthquake of 1667 that razed most of the Dalmatian city to the ground, has a single nave with a ribbed cross vault and Gothic pointed side windows.

We continue along the Stradun, the main street that divides the city in two; at the end of the Stradun is the church of San Biagio, built in 1715 on the foundations of the ancient medieval Romanesque church; we go in to visit it and immediately afterwards we stop at a bar for a coffee. The last religious building we'll visit is naturally the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary; the first building was constructed between the seventh and sixth century in Byzantine style. Between the twelfth and fourteenth century it was then rebuilt in Romanesque style. According to a legend the reconstruction was made possible thanks to a donation from King Richard the Lionheart, after he had been saved from a shipwreck in the town. The current Cathedral was built after the serious damage suffered in the earthquake of 1667, in Baroque style.

We continue our pleasant stroll through the alleys of the city, then reach the car and return to the village for lunch; we spend the rest of the day taking part in the games organised by the entertainment team. On Ferragosto we don't move from the village; we spend the morning at the Coral beach club, a fantastic bathing establishment complete with double sun loungers equipped with soft cushions; the lido also has a bar and an a la carte restaurant. In the afternoon we stay by the pool, where on the occasion of Ferragosto the games and entertainment are particularly lively, as is the evening.

The next day we spend the morning at the beach, while in the afternoon we return to Dubrovnik to see the city from above; we reach the Zicara ClabeCar cable car; the first structure was built in 1969 and, like the current one, links the old town of Dubrovnik to the top of the Srd hill at 405 metres of height; the total length is 778 metres, covered in less than four minutes by two cabins that can hold up to 32 passengers each. Having arrived at the top the panorama is breathtaking; besides the cable car structure, on this hill there are a bar, a restaurant, a white granite cross and an amphitheatre that can hold up to 120 spectators. On a day like this with clear air the view can range up to 60 km. away over the Mediterranean Sea, while the old town of Dubrovnik looks tiny.

We linger a little longer and enjoy the sunset, then return to the valley and treat ourselves to a dinner and a stroll through the little streets of the city before bidding it a final farewell. The last two days we spend entirely in the village, moving from one facility to another, pools, beaches, fun and relaxation - relaxation, so to speak, in fact on the afternoon of the first day I go to hire a jet ski to explore the coast and the islet Otocic Daksa, while the following morning with my little girls we have fun on the inflatable Park anchored in the sea near the Copacabana beach. As all things, especially beautiful ones, come to an end, we've reached our last day of stay in Croatia; tonight at 22.00 our ship departs, which will take us back to Italy.

We spend the morning by the pool, then a shower and we leave the room for good; after lunch we check out, greeting and thanking everyone. We leave the establishment and head to the port, where we spend our last hours in Dubrovnik strolling nearby; around 18.00 we discover that much of the seafront is closed to traffic and in the blink of an eye stalls and fast food kiosks materialise; the most characteristic thing is the very long iron trolleys converted into furnaces where, thanks to a simple system of chains turned by a motor, about twenty lambs rotate and are then sold by weight and served on plates that the customer eats at the wooden tables set up nearby.

After this last experience it's really time to reach the boarding, which unfortunately starts very late; the wait allows us to chat with some young people who, like us, are waiting in line, and each of us recounts their own adventures on Croatian soil; thinking back to ours we feel a sense of nostalgia; it was all truly very beautiful, from Venice to Slovenia, the caves, the Castle, the town of Mostar and the faith of Medjugorje in Bosnia, Zadar, Split, Trogir and Dubrovnik in Croatia. On the morning of 20 August at 10.00, two hours late, we arrive in Bari. I'd like to close this travel diary by thanking all those we met along our journey, waiters, hoteliers, entertainers and ordinary people with whom we shared some moments. THANK YOU ALL.