The Art of Dry Stone Walling
Stone on stone, no mortar
The enduring knowledge of building with stone alone, shaping the walls, terraces, and shelters that define Hvar's entire landscape.
Dry stone walling is the art of building with nothing but carefully chosen stone: no mortar, no binder, just weight, friction and judgement. On Hvar this knowledge shaped the whole island: field walls, terraced vineyards, shepherd shelters and the endless grid of the Stari Grad Plain.
Every wall is also an ecosystem (a home for lizards, herbs and insects) and a water manager, slowing runoff on the island's steep southern slopes where grapes for Plavac Mali ripen above the sea.
In 2018 UNESCO inscribed the art of dry stone walling as intangible heritage shared by eight Mediterranean and Alpine countries, Croatia among them. Hvar is one of the places where the craft is still practised and restored.
Everywhere, but most strikingly on the lavender slopes around Velo Grablje and Brusje, and across the Stari Grad Plain.
See it with someone from here.
Our private experiences weave the island’s heritage into real days out, with local guides who grew up beside it.