Dubrovnik Old Town and Museums Private Tour

The view of the sunlit Old Town of Dubrovnik is the great opportunity for an unforgettable photo in your album! Take a walk along its cobbled streets in company of a professional guide whilst discovering treasures of Dubrovnik’s past and present. Put your hands on its ancient walls and let the distant presence of people who had lived there centuries ago come close and touch you. A half day tour that will leave you mesmerized by architectural treasures, artistic intensity and cultural opulence – a day that will most certainly become one of your favorite holiday experiences ever. The Rectors Palace, was the administrative center of the Dubrovnik Republic. Its style is basically Gothic, with the Renaissance and Baroque reconstructions.

RECTOR PALACE:
In the 15th century the Palace was destroyed twice in gunpowder explosions. Restored by Onofrio della Cava in the late Gothic style after the first explosion in 1435, the Palace got its present-day size with the central atrium and front portico.
The capitals were carved in Renaissance style by Pietro di Martino of Milan, whose capital with Aesculapius has been preserved on the right half-column of the portico. The second gunpowder explosion in 1463 destroyed the western facade of the Palace, and the two famous architects Juraj Dalmatinac and Michelozzo of Florence were engaged in the reconstruction for a short period.
Although the design of Michelozzo was unfortunately rejected, his influence in the restoration of the facade and portico, mainly in Renaissance style, cannot be denied. After the earthquake of 1667 the atrium was partially reconstructed with an impressive Baroque staircase. During his one-month mandate the Rector of Dubrovnik lived in the Palace, which also housed the Minor and Major Council hall, the Rectors residence, the courtroom, administration office, prisons, an arsenal and gunpowder store-house. From the Rectors Palace one could enter the Great Council Palace.

The inscription: OBLITI PRIVATORUM PUBLICA CURATE (Forgetting your private business, concern yourselves with public affairs) can still be seen above the well preserved entrance door. A bust of the rich sea captain and benefactor Miho Pracat, the work by P. Giacometti from 1628, stands in the atrium.

It is the only public monument that the Dubrovnik Republic put up for a meritorious citizen. Today the Rectors Palace houses the Cultural-historic Department of the Dubrovnik Museum with exhibition halls arranged to display the original setting with antique furniture and objects for daily use, as well as paintings by local and Italian masters.
The Museum also guards a collection of old coins used in the Dubrovnik Republic, a collection of arms and utensils of Domus Christi Pharmacy from the 15th century. Apart from being exceptionally beautiful, the Rectors Palace Atrium has excellent acoustics, and is often used as a concert venue. MARITIME MUSEUM: The exhibits on the First Floor give an overview of the development of Dubrovnik maritime trade and shipbuilding from its very start to the fall of the Dubrovnik Republic. The exhibits on the Second Floor show the resurgence of maritime trade in Dubrovnik and on the Pelješac Peninsula during the 19th century, as well as the strength of Dubrovnik steamships up until World War II and afterwards. THE RUPE MUSEUM: where it is possible to see just how much attention the residents of Dubrovnik gave to the storage of grain. The Dubrovnik Republic kept all the state reserves of wheat, barley and millet in deep silos called Rupe, carved out of stone and coated with a water-proof material that kept the grain at a temperature of 17.C. The traditional rural economy and architecture of the Dubrovnik region is found on the First Floor. Folk costumes and textile handiwork can be seen on the 2nd Floor.