To tell a story of the 13 towers of Pučišća, we must go way back in history, to the first settlements in Pučišća bay. Some like to say that the name of Pučišća came from “Spužišće” translating roughly to a place where people “crawled” down to (from Stražišće and Pražnica up on the hill to the bay that Pučišća are today), but it actually came from the Latin word “puteus“, for a “well”. People were gathering and building homes in Soline, Stipanska luka (where the cemetery is today), Rogoj, etc. Pučišća became to resemble a village in the 14th century, but due to many attacks of the pirates from Omiš, many inhabitants would often escape back to the hills. All was starting to look better once the pirate attacks subsided, but not for long.
After 1462., the Turks came. However, this time, people of Pučišća didn’t want to back down, so they started building towers as defense mechanisms.
There were 13 of them around the village, and because of them, Pučišća was known as the Port of towers. Instead of building large, beautiful homes in the bay, people of Pučišća were building strong forts with towers and rifle ports. This made it possible for the village to sustain against the attacks. And thank God it did! Today, all 13 of them are forever engraved in the official coat of arms of the Pučišća municipality.
There are only few of them left. Barba Striš has his fireplace in one, lady Silva a kitchen in the other, so ask them about the details. We’d recommend you take a look at the renewed tower at the entrance to the port, because Barba Matjašić spent a lot of time and energy into renovating it, so it really is worth a look if you manage to catch him. You can even rent out one tower for your vacation!
Visit Pučišća 