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St Blaise: A World Traveller on Ragusan Ships and the Patron Saint of the Dubrovnik Republic Churches of St Blaise in Dubrovnik and across the World

The Dubrovnik Republic is widely known for its history, architecture, and culture, and especially for its maritime merchants, whose ships sailed the world under the flag of St Blaise, the patron of their city-state. They transferred his cult to the colonies they were founded on their maritime routes from India to South America, erecting churches and chapels dedicated to the saint and thus imprinting their identity and presence in distant parts of the world. Nevertheless, among the most magnificent churches dedicated to St Blaise is the one in Dubrovnik, built in 1706- 1715. Its architecture is yet another result of Dubrovnik’s multiple overseas connections and the site of the unique Festivity of St Blaise, recognized by UNESCO as a world intangible cultural heritage. The church was designed by a master from another Mediterranean republic, Venice: Marino Groppelli, a sculptor and architect who thus brought Dubrovnik a peculiar combination of Byzantine heritage (the cross-in-square type with five domes) and Baroque (dynamic spatial organization and lavish sculptural decoration). The said model, reworked in the spirit of Ragusan architectural tradition, was then exported by Dubrovnik’s travelers to overseas countries, where it was combined with the local architectural practice (Italy, India, Peru). This way, a unique body of churches was created that transcended the continents' boundaries.

The Dubrovnik Republic, St Blaise, churches in Dubrovnik and worldwide

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