Tower, Podaca

The tower in Podaca, in the municipality of Gradac in Split-Dalmatia County, stands at the eastern entrance to the village. Podaca is on the Makarska Littoral, and this tower is one of the traces of the turbulent period when the inhabitants had to defend themselves against Ottoman attacks.

It was built in the 17th century, and its oldest known depiction dates from 1666. Beneath the tower is a smaller defensive retaining wall. Its plan is irregular, and it is built of rubble stone in mortar. The interior has a barrel vault through which one exited to the upper level, along with traces of a wooden intermediate floor structure. Along the walls loopholes are arranged on several levels, and on the north façade is a machicolation on stone brackets. On the south side are a smaller door with stone thresholds. The tower has not been preserved to its full height, but even so it testifies well to how coastal settlements were defended.

The tower is a protected cultural property and is entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-5467.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 hr, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).