Church of St Mary Gusarica, Komiža

The church of St Mary Gusarica was built in the 16th century on the gravel beach at the northern end of the Komiža bay. It is located in Split-Dalmatia County. It is interesting to visitors for its unusual three-part form and its position right by the sea.

It owes its name to numerous vows against the pirate threat. It is Renaissance and three-aisled, shaped like three joined buildings with three gabled roofs. The main façade with three gables faces the sea, and above the central one is a bell gable. It is built of finely worked stone ashlar. Inside are Baroque altars, a richly decorated three-part wooden choir loft with an organ, and the votive offerings of seafarers. Beside the church is an enclosed courtyard with a hexagonal wellhead decorated with reliefs.

The church is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-6489.

Photo: August Dominus, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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).