Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/yvjrdcwp7y
Three Medieval Churches in the Present Varoš in Zadar
Zdenko Dundović
orcid.org/0000-0003-1772-1675
; Teološko-katehetski odjel, Sveučilište u Zadru Zadar, Hrvatska
*
Anita Bartulović
orcid.org/0000-0003-0077-2775
; Odjel za povijest, Sveučilište u Zadru Zadar, Hrvatska
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Discussions on the name and the location of the church of St. Ursula began in the 19th century, after the discovery of the remains of the Stomorica church, situated in the area of the present Varoš in Zadar. Carlo Federico Bianchi claimed that Stomorica used to be called the church of St. Ursula; the majority of his contemporaries contradicted him regarding the matter. In the early 20th century, Vitaliano Brunelli identified the Stomorica church with the church of St. Ursula too – based on the study of the published results of the research and analysis of archival documents, yet with insufficient argumentation. Later, Ivo Petricioli suggested St. Ursula to have been located in the area of the Venetian Citadel in the north corner of the city. Based on the knowledge gained so far, the authors attempted to resolve the issue of the name and the location of the church. The analysis of archival sources from the records made by public notaries of Zadar resulted, to an extent, in new knowledge regarding the location and the destiny of the churches that had earlier been situated in the south corner of the city. It was determined that the church bearing no name, which stretched alongside the southwest city wall, near the Citadel, may with certainty be identified with the church of SS. Cosmas and Damian. According to the existing scientific literature, this church was demolished in 1454. The sources state that it already existed as early as in 1517; the report on the visitation of the Zadar churches corroborates this argument. Furthermore, the comparative method of the description of real estate and borders in the city quarter of St. Ursula in the late 15th and during the 16th century confirmed Bianchi’s argument that the Stomorica church, originally named after the Blessed Virgin Mary, indeed bore the name of the church of St. Ursula as of the end of the 15th century. Finally, it was demolished around mid-16th century, when the southwest city wall had been diked and the fortification system strengthened.
Keywords
church of St. Ursula; Stomorica; St. Ivan Kovački; Babe; church of SS. Cosmas and Damian; Citadel
Hrčak ID:
340557
URI
Publication date:
8.12.2025.
Visits: 684 *