Page 36 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2019 PORTUGAL

Saint Blaise, a Croatian physician, Armenian
bishop, and Christian saint.
Legend has it that in 972 AD, Venetian
ships appeared near Lokrum Island with the
guise of delivering supplies. No one in the
city thought much of it at the time. However,
while praying in the Church of St. Stephen, a
local priest received a visitation from the
spirit of St. Blaise. The saint warned of the
Venetians' true intention to conquer the city.
The priest promptly alerted the city's Sen‐
ate, which prepared for defense.
The Venetians, with their secret scheme re‐
vealed, were forced to abandon their mis‐
sion and set sail. In gratitude for this
miraculous intervention, Saint Blaise became
the patron saint of Dubrovnik and the pro‐
tector of the independent Republic of Ra‐
gusa. To this day, the city celebrates the
Feast of St. Blaise every February 3rd with
street celebrations and parades, an event
recognized by UNESCO as an "Intangible
Cultural Heritage" in 2009.
As the morning sun grew hotter, we real‐
ized that one thing Dubrovnik lacked was
shade, with few trees or parks within the Old
Town. Our guide wisely advised us to refill
our water bottles. She led us to the famous
Onofrio Fountain, a majestic circular struc‐
ture built between 1438 and 1440 by Italian
architect Onofrio Della Cava. Della Cava was
also responsible for an aqueduct system
supplying water to Dubrovnik, constructed in
1438, and a plumbing system that trans‐
ported water from a spring over seven miles
away.
Before the aqueduct's completion, the city
relied on rainwater for drinking. The system
was relatively simple - rainwater was col‐
lected in cisterns - but the cisterns only held
only a few weeks' worth of water. During
prolonged droughts, resourceful citizens
would fill barrels with fresh water from
nearby springs and transport them to the
port to sell at inflated prices. In response,
city leaders commissioned Della Cava to

36 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER/SPRING 2024