The Pelješac Peninsula
One of the least known facets of the Croatian coast, the Pelješac peninsula is Dalmatia’s surprise package
The destiny of the Pelješac Peninsula has always been linked to its position. Sprawling out towards the sun of the Adriatic and the central Dalmatian islands, some 30 miles north west of Dubrovnik, it was for its Illyrian, Roman and Slavic masters a link between the Balkan hinterland and Korčula and Hvar.
Later on, at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, it was important for the French troops for the same reason. Apart from bequeathing it the still-existing Napoleon Road, which runs along sheltered areas from the isthmus to Orebić, they left it the secret of producing Pelješac champagne, an excellent sparkling wine bottled in old siphons. Before that, the people of Dubrovnik had endowed it with stone-girt cities and skill in farming shellfish, the people of Zahumlje with ancient little chapels, and the Greeks and Romans with the viticulture, the production of wine and sea salt, urbanity and a cultivated estate lifestyle. And yet, in spite of the rich history and pristine beauty, Pelješac is one of the least known facets of the Croatian coastline…
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