Luka Botić Luka Botić was born in Split in 1830. He was a member of the National Revival Movement and is known as the initiator of the Croatian romantic epic. Although born into poverty, his mother decided to have him educated, and sent him to study theology in Zadar. However, he was not able to complete his studies. After exploring Bosnia, Serbia and Zagreb, in search of his purpose in life, he ended up in Đakovo, where he began working as a clerk in the Đakovo diocese. However, he was soon dismissed because he refused to take the oath of allegiance to Emperor Franz Joseph. He was a rebellious fighter for Dalmatia and Croatia, opposing Viennese absolutism and the Habsburg Monarchy.
As a representative of the Croatian National Revival ((1813)1830 – 1874), and within his literary circle which consisted of the ‘children of the people’, craftsmen, peasants and clerks, Botić attempted to achieve a specific socio-political goal through his literary endeavors. The Movement aspired to affirm the Croatian language, and literature was considered a means of the national struggle against absolutism and the dominance of the German language, which was the official language at the time. In 1861, Botić was elected as the people's representative in the Parliament, alongside Ivan Kukuljević, Franjo Rački, Eugen Kvaternik, Ivan Mažuranić and others. However, it was clear from his speeches that Đakovo did not offer him what he needed, and that his hometown, Split, was the place of his memories. He decided to return, but he had to flee from Bajamonti's autonomists, who opposed the National Revival and the unification of Dalmatia with Croatia and Slavonia. The legend says that Luka Botić was often hiding from the gendarmes on Marjan. After the dissolution of the Parliament in 1861, he published his most famous work, Bijedna Mara, and in 1862. he wrote Petar Bačić. Even before that, in 1854, he printed his work Dilber Hasan in Neven, a literary journal that he founded with several Croatian intellectuals. Luka Botić was a romantic who adored his hometown and its customs, who expressed himself through the characters of unfortunate heroes, rebels, lovers. Yet, he decided to take a modern worldview and withdrew from the battles for the collective good. His literary characters, in the spirit of absolutism, turn to their own personality and privacy, in order to find their inner self.
Despite being the most talented poet of his time, he is relatively unknown today, even in his own city, which he depicted with great enthusiasm and passion. Unfortunately, Botić died young, in 1863 in Đakovo, allegedly of tuberculosis, in poverty.
This statue is the work of Ivan Meštrović from 1905. It was originally located at Prokurative (Botićeva poljana). Then, in 1921,
it was relocated to Marjan, and in 1955 to the exterior of the CNT building. In 1979, the statue was returned to Marjan.
On the pedestal is inscribed Botić's verse from 1861, serving as a significant epitaph: Od mene će otpuh praška biti, al u grobu raztvoreni prašak za slobodu razigrat se hoće [I shall be nothing but dust; yet, in the grave this dust shall rise for freedom].
Botić's best-known work is Bijedna Mara from 1861, and it was very popular at the time. Bijedna Mara is a ten-line poem of six parts. In 1932, Josip Hatze composed an opera called Adel and Mara based on the Botić’s poem. It tells a romantic story about forbidden love between Mara and Adel, a Turk from Klis. Ivo Parać composed Adel's song (opera).
Luka Botić develops the story of the love between two young people from irreconcilable faiths, the Christian Mara and the Muslim Adel, using vivid imagery of actual locations like Split and Konjsko. Botić does not see the Turks only as enemies, and depicts Muslims and Christians with equal sympathy. As a representative of the National Revival, he expressed his ethical and political views in Bijedna Mara through the brotherhood of the Christian Boktulija and the Muslim Adel, but also through the love of Adel and Mara, and the meeting of Boktulija and Melka. The fathers of the family, embodying unyielding tradition, are the barrier to this romantic love. By writing in decasyllables about a theme that was not tipically explored in decasyllabic lines, he took a significant step towards “deheroizing” the Croatian epic verse.
Dujam Srećko Karaman was a Croatian folklorist and author (1856 – 1927). He collected folk poems, and studied cultural heritage and the history of the Split area. He compiled the anthology Marjanska vila ili Sbirka narodnih pjesama, of poems he had collected in Split (1885).
Folk literature frequently covered the topics of historical events but usually incorporated mythological characters such as fairies. It was disseminated by traveling storytellers, many of whom were blind. During the Illyrian National Revival, poems written in the vernacular emerged as evidence and expressions of national spirit and patriotism. They served to affirm the Croatian language in response to Magyarization and Germanization.
The same collection contains a poem by an anonymous town poet – the poem to Palma Karamanka, who died of smallpox in 1864, and came from a well-known Split family that had a house on Šperun. In 1826, the first cemetery outside Split, the one on Sustipan, was officially opened. A stone plaque stood there until 1961, which testified to the death of two unfortunate lovers from Split – Palmina Karaman and Andrija Katalinić. Andrija could not get over the early death of his fiancée, so he lay down next to her dead body, wrapped himself in her sheet and thus died of smallpox himself.
The well-known Croatian poem Marjane, Marjane, ča barjak ne viješ was written down in this collection for the first time. The flag (barjak) is a symbol of protection, and it is placed on top of the hill, representing the connection between what is above and what is below, elevating the spirit, preaching on moral values... Transformed into a march song, it became a symbol of patriotism across different regimes, with alterations in the lyrics corresponding to changes in social circumstances. People used to sing this song in concentration camps, and even on the top of the Himalayas. Marjane, Marjane, ča barjak ne viješ. Barjak je simbol zaštite, nalazi se na vrhu brda pa predstavlja vezu onoga gore i onoga dolje, podiže duh, napominje o moralnim vrijednostima… Kao koračnica, ta pjesma je bila iskaz domoljublja kroz razne režime, pa su joj i stihovi mijenjani s promjenama društvenih prilika. Pjevalo ju se i u konc logorima i na vrhu Himalaje.
The poem Na merjan su drače, in addition to the motif of courtship, also talked about intolerance between the Split neighborhoods of Lučac and Varoš. The poem mentions brambles, which serve as a symbol of defense against the outside world, but also difficult path through uncultivated and unprotected areas.
Hasanaginica was included in this collection for the first time.
Jerolim Kavanjin Jerolim Kavanjin (1641 – 1714) was a lawyer and historiographer of noble origin, who lived on the island of Brač in his old age, like Marko Marulić did. His daughter Saba married Nikola de Capogrosso in 1709, who added hers to his surname, since the poet Kavanjin had no son.
He wrote the longest poem in the Croatian literature, Povijest vandjelska bogatoga a nesrećna Epuluna i ubogoga a čestitoga Lazara, consisting of 30 cantos (32,658 verses). The poem is also known as Bogatstvo i uboštvo (1861), which is the title given by the publisher I. Kukuljević Sakcinski.
The central theme of the poem initially focused on the Biblical story of the poor Lazarus, but the author soon moved to writing about the history and landmarks of Split and other coastal towns. The second part of the poem deals with themes from the Slavic past and saints of Slavic origin, and the last 11 cantos are dedicated to the final questions (God, faith, death). The work ends with a description of hell, heaven and doomsday. The poem written in the Baroque style, with the influences of Dante, I. Gundulić, I. Đurđević and J. Baraković. There is also a noticeable reference to historiographical and theological literature. Although Povijest vandjelska is a very heterogeneous poem, and its literary quality varies in certain parts, Kavanjin occupies an important place in the old Croatian literature because he was the first significant writer from Split after Marko Marulić. Like Marko Marulić, he was buried in the monastery of St. Francis.
Ivan Kovačić Ivko (1897 – 1981) was a student of the town teacher Vjekoslav Radica.
In his work Smij i suze starega Splita, Kovačić describes how he participated in the creation of today's Marjan forest park, i.e. in its reforestation. “Šjor” Ivko was a traditional local, an ordinary peasant with only an elementary school diploma, who worked as a postman, and yet he wrote extensively. His records contain a chronicle of the people and events in Split at the turn of the 19th and 20th century, written from his personal experience and memory.
This work was not created according to a predetermined plan or order. The author recorded everything that happened to him or that he remembered on various occasions. As a result, the text consists of documentary descriptions, anecdotes, and portraits of local residents. Kovačić did not add anything to his narratives, nor did he make things up, because he did not try accomplish a literary effect. The work can thus serve as a source of information, but also as a basis for ethnographic or sociological research of Split.
Tonči Petrasov Marović (1934 – 1991) was a poet, publicist, journalist, children's writer, art and literary critic from Split. He received a humanistic education, but lived in the post-war time characterized by one-sided worldviews, single-mindedness, as well as criticism and protests. As a humanist, he was particularly interested in ethical topics and matters of fate. He was appalled by the demolition of the Sustipan cemetery. For him, this abandoned cemetery carried more than just a picturesque atmosphere. In 1957, when it had already been decided that the cemetery be removed, he published Sonata za staro groblje na Sustjepanu, where he wrote:
Nitko ne bi smio iskapati mrtve…
Ali tko mari za to kada je to otimanje
izjednačeno s oslobađanjem…
Crkvu na vrhu brijega odavno porušiše…
Nitko ne bi smio iskapati mrtve
Nitko ni za što…
Ja sam vikao: Nitko ne bi smio…
NITKO NE BI SMIO iskapati mrtve
Ali tad izgubih glas
(po njihovoj zapovijedi valjda)
i sada šutim jauk
Twenty years later, in 1977, he wrote about Sustipan again, in the poem Sustipan opet:
Nemaš više vratnica
ni psa ni natpisa
moj Sustipane
nema više križeva
ni našeg živog Zgareja nema
ni tvojih mrtvih
ti si sada prazna zemlja
ledina Judina
moj Sustipane.
Petrasov also says that we live off places and ambiences where we discover the meaning of life, otherwise we are abandoned and lost, and the Sustipan cemetery is such a place. He sees in those who once lived the justification for his own existence, because he believes that death, birth and life are always here within us, and the cemetery must exist to remind us of the existence of those who no longer exist.
Dr. Ivan Delalle 1892 – 1962) was born in Trogir. This priest, archaeologist and writer left an indelible mark in the cultural history of Split and Trogir with his public and cultural activities. He is the author of numerous cultural and historical studies, mostly on Dalmatian art, churches and cultural history, and especially in Trogir and Split.
Referring to Marjan and its history, in his work Misli i pogledi s Marjana (1922), Ivo Delalle says:
“Our Marjan is not to Split what Grič is to Zagreb. Its nature is more philosophical than historical. Marjan is not merely a backdrop where history unfolded, but rather a peripheral space from which events were quietly observed. It is a resting place for mythical creatures and dreamers, evoking feelings of solitary melancholy and nostalgia for the ancient and lost childhood of the world. It hides in his belly the gloomy song of an ancient pagan god, broken glasses of red wine, lost pipes of shepherds, sad faces of satyrs. From within comes the cry of the dying Pan. In the elegy of the lost springs, the beautiful Hellenic goddesses conceal their eternally smiling faces. Whoever observes Split from above, must shed the weaknesses of this ephemeral individuality, and make oneself part of that beautiful and great life around us that can be interrupted, but never lost...”
Petar Rossi was born in 1930 in Split. He was a respected doctor, cultural and sports worker, who delivered numerous lectures on the topic of Marjan and appeared on radio and television shows. He wrote about prehistoric, ancient and medieval Marjan, but also about the most recent times. In the preface to his book Zanosi i čeznuća from 2000, he states that he would like it to serve as a catalyst for reinvigorating the sanctity of Marjan and Sustipan, in order to prevent further destruction of the cultural landscape. He referred to Marjan as ‘Arcadia of unique beauty’ and ‘the highest lighthouse in Split’. The city was an inexhaustible source of inspiration for him.
“Marjan! A mountain or a hill, a hill or a mountain? It doesn't matter. Marjan is, as they say, the most beautiful decoration of the city of Split. And that's how it has always been.
Marjan has always flourished and faded alongside its city and its life. While only occasional echoes of Split's history are etched in its bones, Marjan, as a silent witness to its dramas and triumphs, has emerged as one of the most significant symbols of Split.
Technological achievements, both in our country and in the world, are threatening and injuring our health each day. Marjan is a balm for many of our wounds, compensation for many of our losses.
Well, that's our Marjan. We owe it gratitude for our sensory, aesthetic, moral, philosophical and other experiences. It is up to us to ensure eternal life for this extraordinary masterpiece of God.”
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