Sumartin

In Sumartin, which thanks to its nearness to the coast, mountain-slope winds and a position facing the mainland has relatively many rain showers a year to expect, a very effective system for obtaining fresh water developed - which on the island was always problematic: the descendants of the first settlers, who built their houses here in the 16th century while fleeing from the Ottoman army, at some point began to lime their roofs. There was, after all, plenty of lime here, and the white powder also has an excellent filtering effect. So when a rain shower now strikes the house, the precious water is directed through the lime into collecting basins and cleaned at the same time. After the first washing the layer of lime was so dense that the water obtained could even be drunk without trouble. Today, unfortunately, along with the necessity the tradition too is fading more and more, and fewer and fewer roofs gleam like little snowy domes. A pity, but in return there is today a well-developed marina with a lifting crane, an impressive underwater fauna and a museum in the old Franciscan monastery.