The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik and Stari Grad Plain

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik

   Croatian cathedrals are usually built of brick and timber, so the first odd thing about St James in Šibenik is that it is made entirely of stone, vaulted and roofed in carefully shaped slabs that lock together without a scrap of wood or mortar in the structure. It took more than a century to finish, from the 1430s into the 1530s, and the work passed through the hands of Juraj Dalmatinac and later Niccolò Fiorentino, which is why Gothic and Renaissance ideas sit in the same building. UNESCO added it to the World Heritage list in 2000.

   Read the complete The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik is where the day begins. Next is Historic City of Trogir.

2. 2. Historic City of Trogir

   Trogir is an island, though you barely notice it. The old town sits on a tiny islet between the mainland and the larger island of Čiovo, linked to both by short bridges, and inside its walls is one of the best preserved medieval towns on the Adriatic, a UNESCO site of narrow lanes, stone palaces and churches, crammed into an area you can walk across in five minutes.

   Read the complete Historic City of Trogir write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Historic City of Trogir comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stari Grad Plain.

3. 3. Stari Grad Plain

   Hvar's best farmland is not on a hillside but on a flat, fertile plain just inland from the town of Stari Grad, and it has been laid out in the same pattern for about twenty-four centuries. Greek settlers from Paros founded a colony called Pharos here in the fourth century BC, and they divided the plain into neat rectangular plots, marked out by dry-stone walls. The walls are still there, the plots still follow the old grid, and the people who farm them today are growing grapes and olives much as their predecessors did. UNESCO listed the plain as a World Heritage site in 2008, and for once the listing is tied to something you can actually walk across.

   Read the complete Stari Grad Plain write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 132 km into the recorded legs you reach Stari Grad Plain. Next is back through Historic City of Trogir.

4. 4. back through Historic City of Trogir

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Historic City of Trogir write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Historic City of Trogir, late in the day. Next is The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik.

5. 5. The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at The Cathedral of St James in Šibenik. That is the ride.