One of the most significant monuments of the island of Hvar is definitely the fortified church in Vrboska, erected in 1571, after the Turkish attack on the location of an older church that originated in 1465.
The church has the shape of a fort with an observation post and a loop-hole and from its top there is a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding places and fields. The church preserves valuable works of Stefan Celesti, Antonio Sciuri, Giuseppe Alabardi, Marko Rašica and Celestin Medović.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.