Pag Town Old Centre

The old town of Pag — quite distinct from the modern beach resort of Novalja on the same island — is one of the finest Renaissance planned cities in the Mediterranean and easily the most under-visited of Croatia's UNESCO-worthy townscapes. It was designed from scratch in 1443 by the great Renaissance architect Juraj Dalmatinac (the same Juraj who built Šibenik Cathedral) as a purpose-built salt-industry town for the Venetian Republic, and its perfectly regular grid of narrow limestone streets radiating from a central square is a masterwork of early urban planning. The star sight is the never-finished parish church of the Assumption of Mary on the main square — begun 1443 to Juraj's design, with a stunning rose window and richly carved gothic portal — accompanied by an elegant Duke's Palace on the same square. The tiny alleys off the square are the domain of the town's famous 'Paška Čipka' (Pag Lace), an intricate needlepoint craft inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage List in 2009 and still practised by dozens of local women; the excellent small Museum of Pag Lace shows the process and sells original pieces. Beyond lace, the town is famous for 'Paški Sir' (Pag sheep's cheese) — the greatest of all Croatian cheeses, aged in sea-salt-impregnated cellars.