Elena is the director of Radio Tivat, grew up with two brothers, is the mother of two sons and has that "masculine energy" of Bokeli women who for centuries had to do everything, including "men's jobs" while their sailor husbands were on distant meridians.
Last year, she took me to Gornji Stoliv, an abandoned village where the Church of St. Elijah is located, which Catholics from Bokelje visit every July 20 on St. Elijah, who was a prophet, protector from storm, thunder and fire, and is still a permanent symbol of the fight against impiety.
We walked for almost an hour together with numerous believers and pilgrims. We were slowly climbing the stony path that leads through the chestnut forest when the bells from the church rang calling for the holy mass. And after the mass, there was a socializing with the friendly locals, who were invited by the young priest don Željko Pasković to treat themselves to cakes, juices, water and herbal medicine in the courtyard of the rectory. From the plateau in front of the church there is an unreal view of Perast from the other side of the bay.
At the time when Venice ruled Boca, the village had about 1.200 inhabitants, had four shops, two oil mills and four bread bakeries. At one time, every young man had to plant a hundred olive trees in order to get the right to marry, and that's how the place got its name. Church of St. Ilje dominates the settlement and it is not known when it was built. According to the inscription above the entrance, it was added in 1556, while the belfry was built in 1833. Its special value is represented by three altar paintings by the Slovenian artist Josip Tominac.
photo: r. shepherd...
This year, knowing my interest in cultural heritage, Elena suggested that don Ivo, a local priest, take us in his boat to the island where Our Lady of Mercy is located.
After ten minutes of sailing, we arrive at a small harbor under the church tower, we tie up the boat and there we are cheerfully greeted by a dog that has been the island's only permanent resident for years. Jacky is a big dog, but he is cuddly, but potential travelers from the sea don't see that, so they often hesitate to disembark on the island.
It was first inhabited in 1479 by monks from Celestina, and at the beginning of the 16th century, the island was taken over by Franciscans who built a monastery and a large church in honor of Our Lady of Mercy. When the monastery and the church were sacked by the Turks, the Franciscans rebuilt them with the voluntary contributions of the faithful. In the 19th century, the island was taken over by the parish priests of Krtol and Krašić, who lived on it while managing their parishes. During an extremely strong storm, lightning struck the bell tower of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, toppling it and significantly damaging the church and monastery. On that occasion, one pastor was killed, while another was injured. However, the ancient wooden statue of Our Lady that dates back to the beginning of the 15th century, which has a special symbolism for believers, remained undamaged. The mentioned statue depicts the Virgin Mary in a blessed ("graceful") state, hence the name of the church and the island. Don Ivo says that it is the only statue in Europe in which Our Lady is shown pregnant.
One počuo (well, according to Bokelje) supplies drinking water to the whole island. Recently, the local authorities installed a water pipe from the mainland, Don Ivo, with the help of donors, renovated a number of rooms, each of which now has its own bathroom. The monastery has one of the richest libraries in Boka Kotorska, rare works of theological and scientific literature. On the island there is also a Roman altar dedicated to the goddess Juno Lucina (protector of women in labor), dating from the late antique period.
We look around the courtyard of the monastery where palm trees and olive trees grow, father Ivo has big plans for this island but, he says, promises are regularly bigger than actual donations. We left the garden and went to the back of the island where we found a few locals, who obviously know Jackie's peaceful nature and were swimming and sunbathing there. However, it started to "blow from the south" and the sea became seriously calm. We waved to Jackie and headed for the mainland, the village of Kaludjerovina in whose small marina Don Ivo moors his boat, right next to the former Niki Beach, which, he says, often disturbed Our Lady of Mercy and her visitors with loud music.
One of the locals we met on the pontoon threw at our host: "Don Ivo, it looks like you won't have water for a long time!" and pointed with his finger at a yacht anchored in the middle of the channel between the mainland and the island. Right by the place where the water pipe is laid. If the waves were to move the ship, the anchor could damage the pipe and the island would indeed fall back onto that single well. Zealous Elena immediately called the Port Authority and the unscrupulous "visitors" soon moved their vessel to another part of the bay.
