Korcula Posip I

Prizba

Passing Blato, I turned on the road to Prizba. I remembered a similar journey of twenty years ago. We were shooting a documentary about the island. A colleague who helped me choose the location asked me if I wanted to capture the village where no one lives but the nature and beautiful vistas. It sounded promising.


We drove down the road a few kilometers. In the midst of olive groves we turned on the path overgrown with grass. After a few kilometers, I saw a few stone houses in front of which was a village signboard "Dub". Ironically, namely Dub is a popular name for oak (Quercus robur) tree of exceptional longevity that can reach the age of 800 years. It was spring, it was all green and blooming, but somehow empty. I walked up to an old wooden door at the entrance to a house. My gaze was attracted by big key that hung on rusted nails driven into the beam of the door.
Gently I pushed the door and entered the room that due to the bright sun was completely dark. Entering the room, I felt as if I entered the lives of the people who lived there. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw that I was in the central room in which they lived. On the stove was a pot, above it on the shaft hung weathered dusty bowls. By the stove was an old plate with wrinkled yellow letters. This sense of weight and sadness I felt then, I still feel now after twenty years when I think of Dub. As if someone had ordered the immediate forced evacuation.


And so it was only the evacuation in that 1928 was "prepared by" phylloxera (Viteus vitifoliae) that destroyed 97% of the vineyard from which the majority of the population lived on Korcula. More than half  population moved from island, mainly in overseas countries.

When the phylloxera in 1868 completely jeopardized the French viticulture, France imported primarily Dalmatian wines. This prompted the development of viticulture in Dalmatia, although the agricultural sector has always been very important to the island.


The Statute of the town and island of Korcula from 1214, a number of provisions which show the importance of viticulture and wine production. Thus, the Statute provides that at the time of ripening grapes no one should pass a vineyard at night with them if there is no lit candle holder. For intentional damage to or destruction of vineyards punishment was cutting off hand.

Driving thru Prizba I think about the people who had to leave this piece of paradise and go into the unknown. Unknown is too mild word. Most of these people set sail to Australia and New Zealand, carrying with them all worth in a suitcase and bare hands to begin creating new life. I was not surprised when I found the fact that several of the most important New Zealand winemaker are of Croatian origin. I'm thinking about this road of no return, to connect those mosaic pieces in the film story. I'll probably start to consider it seriously, soon.