Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/yk3jwhp4e9
Lazaretto and the Church of Saint Mary at Danče through the Prism of the Last Wills in the State Archives in Dubrovnik, 1457-1517
Mara Kolić Pustić
orcid.org/0009-0005-9215-4983
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Dubrovnik Department for Conservation, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Abstract
Legacies to the church and the lazaretto complex at Danče traced in 1,899 wills in the State Archives in Dubrovnik, dated between 1457 (decision on church construction) and 1517 (final decoration with altars), have shown the potential in seeking answers to a number of research questions. Firstly, 33 legacies regarding construction works (fabriche) at Danče, have provided a fairly precise insight into the construction dynamics. Further, apparently the bequests often exceeded six grossi, the limit set for a mandatory legacy according to Article 6 of the Plague Law (Ordo super peste), and thus testifies that personal devotion and piety of the Ragusans surpassed the state policy measures. Lastly, this research has shown that in the expression tre chiese solite, referring to the Cathedral, Church of St Blaise and the Church of St Mary of Grace at Danče (S. Maria de Gratia), frequently featuring in seventeenth-century legacies, the small church at Danče was not a newcomer. By contrast, in the period between 1457 and1517 the legacies to St Mary of Grace at Danče tended to increase, reaching a portion of as much as 80 per
cent from the 1480s, while the legacies to St Blaise, the church dedicated to the city's patron were sparse. This goes to prove how important this church and the complex surrounding it were as a place of piety and charity to the Ragusans, remaining so well
after the 1620s when the new lazaretto was built at Ploče.
Keywords
Dubrovnik; 15th and 16th century; Danče; Church of St Mary of Grace; lazaretto; Church of St Blaise; tre chiese solite; wills; legacies
Hrčak ID:
337492
URI
Publication date:
5.11.2025.
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