Croatian festival celebrates maritime heritage despite bad weather
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People in Komiža, Croatia, held the Rota Palagruzona festival, a celebration of traditional boats, sailing, and maritime heritage.
The festival originated from a centuries-old regatta to the island of Palagruža, first recorded in 1593 when 74 boats from Komiža sailed towards it. After being held consistently until 1936, the event was revived in 2009 by the cultural institution Ars Halieutica. This year’s festival saw changing plans due to unfavorable wind conditions, preventing many boats from reaching Komiža or Palagruža.
Organizers adapted the program, focusing on workshops for children and adults and collaboration among maritime associations from Croatia, Italy, and Norway. Members of the Arzanà association from Venice, Kanata from Zadar, and Hvar Metropola Mora joined the event, along with Anne Nygren from the Norwegian association Forbundet Kysten. Participants built miniature boats and compared sailing techniques from different parts of the Adriatic Sea.
Despite the weather, people enjoyed sailing on traditional falkuša boats, attended lectures on sailing equipment and maritime history, and viewed exhibits on Komiža’s maritime heritage. The festival also included culinary traditions, with the Arzanà association preparing Venetian-style pasta and local organizers making a fish stew called brujet. A regatta for small traditional boats called gundula took place with 22 boats and over 40 women competing, with Teuta and Marija winning for the second year in a row.
