The island of Korcula is 6th largest island in the Adriatic sea. It is situated in the southern part of the Croatia's Adriatic Coast, between main towns Split and Dubrovnik, with good boat connections to the mainland, which makes it increasingly popular tourist destination among all groups of tourists visiting Croatia - it has something to offer to people with various interests.
For those seeking for cultural sightseeing, we can definitely recommend a visit to Korcula old town, one of most beautiful and preserved old towns on the eastern coast of the Adriatic sea, allegedly the birth place of famous traveler and historian Marko Polo.
It is also worthvile visiting the town of Vela Luka (Eng. transl. Large Harbor), now only a shadow of once largest port on the eastern part of the Adriatic sea, used primarily for exports of wine and other agricultural products from the island of Korcula and other Central Dalmatian islands and coastal towns.
One should definitely visit Blato - the largest town on the island, situated in the interior of the island. There you can find extraordinary insigt into the past of of the island, its inhabitants and their lifestyle. It is the oldest settlement on the island, and archaeological proof of the continuity of live on this are dates back through Roman, Illiryan and even prehistoric archaeological remains.
In the year of 1910., according to Austria-Hungarian census (Dalmatia was then a province of Austria-Hungarian empire), Blato was 6th most populated town in the entire Dalmatia, but due to grape phylloxera (a pest of grapevines) a massive exodus to countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, USA, Brasil, etc. occured, decimateing the population of the town and entire island. For example, just in year 1925, more then 1200 residents of town Blato left their island for good.
It is interesting to mention that world famous footballer Diego Maradona is of Korculan origin - his grandmother, Salvadora, is of Croatian descent, her maiden name is Cariolichi (Kariolic), her father Mateo Kariolic emigrated from Korcula in the end of the 19th century. Diego named his oldest daughter Dalma, after Dalmatia, an historinc province of Croatia in which the island of Korcula is situated.
Dalmatian economical emigration played a very important role in the colonization of South America and Oceania, ant there are many more interesting stories like this about "El mano del dios" Diego Maradona, which we will later present to you in a new article (for example Dalmatian Māori in New Zeland or Patagonian indian chiefs with Dalmatian surnames ).
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