Račić Family Mausoleum and St Roch Cemetery, Cavtat

The Račić Family Mausoleum in Cavtat is a masterpiece of the Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović, also known as Our Lady of the Angels. It stands at the top of the Rat peninsula, in St Roch Cemetery, in a picturesque, garden-like part of Cavtat's historic core with a panoramic view. It was built on the site of the cemetery chapel of St Roch from the 15th century; work began in 1920 and lasted until October 1922.

The building has an octagonal ground plan with a cross-shaped base and ends in a dome topped with a bronze angel. It is built of white Brač stone, from which all the sculptures are also made, while the entrance door, the angel and the bell in the dome are cast in bronze. Two caryatids stand in front of the entrance. The cemetery is small and simply laid out, bordered by cypresses and pines, and the oldest preserved graves date from the second half of the 19th century.

The mausoleum with St Roch Cemetery is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-3875.

Photo: Andreas Lauterer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: Wikidata (CC0).