Cara, one of the oldest settlements on the
island, is characterized by a nice location
near the Cara field. The most famous product
is the well-known white wine, Posip,
one of the first protected sorts in Croatia.
Well-known is also olive oil from Cara.
The church of Our Lady of the Cara Field
is visited by pilgrims on the Day of St.
James, patron of Cara (25th of July) and
on the Nativity of Mary (8th of September).
The famous Kumpanija is always performed
on St. James' Day (see Blato). The tradition
of Dalmatian folk songs has also been cherished.
South of Cara is Zavalatica, the former port
for wine exports, today a tourist resort.
Both Zavalatica and the nearby cove of Zitna
offer numerous small boarding houses, villas
and apartments (renting).
CARA, a village in the central part of the
island of Korcula, 4 km east of Smokvica,
at the foot of the hill called Koncar; elevation
126 m. It is one of the oldest settlements
(Kzarra) on the island (14th c.).
Economy is based on farming, viticulture,
olive growing and livestock breeding. Cara
is located on the regional road running throughout
the island.
The church of St. Mary in the Field dates
back to the first half of the 14th century
(restored in 1377, at the end of the 16th
c. and in 1680), featuring a broad nave and
a large semicircular apse. On the main altar,
put together in the 18th century, are seven
Gothic alabaster reliefs from England (14th-15th
c.). The parish church of St. Peter was
first mentioned in the 15th century; a three-nave
structure in the beginning, it was reconstructed
in the 18th century, when a bell tower was
added to it. Apart from a golden chalice
in Gothic style, the church also keeps an
altarpiece by Leandro Bassano. A 1770 loggia
stood next to the church, however it was
pulled down. The Baroque Spanic citadel from
1674 has been completely disfigured and deformed.
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