History of the island of Čiovo

Long ago people believed that huge snakes lived on the island off Trogir, snakes that ate their cattle and meant to harm people. And so today's Ciovo was at first called "Boa". It is under this name that it also receives its first written mention. A few men doubted the old myths and divided the island among themselves. After the first name of one of them it is now called Vulciha. Over time, through sound shifts, this became Vulcohovo, Cihovo and finally Ciovo. In contrast to the picture that presents itself to today's visitors, the island was barely settled for centuries: besides a few refugees from pre-Roman times, the exiles of the first centuries of our era and clerics seeking solitude in the 5th century, in the Middle Ages lepers too inhabited the island. Only in the 15th century, when the island was felt to be a good refuge from the approaching Turkish army, did the population density rise abruptly. Many of the new inhabitants stayed on even once the acute danger had passed. They built shipyards and fished in the sea, laid out gardens and fields and created buildings that can still be visited today. In the 19th century the educated and experiment-loving islander Andrija Andric discovered the healing power of some local plants. He classified 905 species and researched, among other places at the University of Padua, the effect of their aromas, active substances and reactions on illnesses and injuries. Older islanders in particular still partly know about this beneficial effect and have quite their own recipes against sunburn, mosquito bites or an upset stomach - simply ask around if you need to! Most of Ciovo's inhabitants also speak enough German or English, since today they live above all from tourism. Almost every family has a room to let and especially in the north there is busy building. All the same - it is probably down to the pull of this island - the available space only rarely does justice to the throng of visitors.