Lastovo

This article is about the island. For other uses, see Lastovo (disambiguation).
Lastovo
Satellite image of Lastovo
Map
Geography
LocationAdriatic Sea
Coordinates42°45′N 16°52′E / 42.750°N 16.867°E / 42.750; 16.867
ArchipelagoCentral Dalmatian
Area46.87 km2 (18.10 sq mi)[1]
Length9.8 km (6.09 mi)[2]
Width5.8 km (3.6 mi)[2]
Coastline46.4 km (28.83 mi)[1]
Highest elevation415 m (1362 ft)[1]
Highest pointHum
Administration
Croatia
CountyDubrovnik-Neretva
Largest settlementLastovo (pop. 344)
Demographics
Population792 (2011)
Pop. density16.9/km2 (43.8/sq mi)
Ethnic groups93% Croats

Lastovo (pronounced [lâstɔv̞ɔ]; Italian: Lagosta, German: Augusta, Latin: Augusta Insula, Greek: Ladestanos, Illyrian: Ladest) is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 people,[3] of which 94,7% are ethnic Croats, and a land area of approximately 53 square kilometres (20 sq mi).[4][5] The biggest island in the municipality is also named Lastovo, as is the largest town. The majority of the population lives on the 46 square kilometres (18 sq mi) island of Lastovo.

Lastovo, like the rest of the Roman province of Dalmatia, was settled by Illyrians. The Romans conquered and settled the entire area, retaining control until the Avar invasions and Slavic migrations in the 7th century. The Croats and other Slavic tribes subjugated by the Croats secured most of the Dalmatian seaboard, but some cities and islands (like Lagosta) of the romanised Dalmatians remained independent under the nominal rule of the Byzantines. In 1000 AD the Venetians attacked and destroyed the settlement due to the island's participation in piracy along the Adriatic coast. After the Venetian domination, in the 13th century Lagosta joined the Republic of Ragusa where for several centuries it enjoyed a certain level of autonomy until the republic's conquest by the French, under Napoleon. Austria then ruled the island for the next century, then Italy for 30 years after World War I, and finally Yugoslavia until it became a part of the independent Republic of Croatia.

The island is noted for its 15th- and 16th-century Venetian architecture. There is a large number of churches of relatively small size, a testament to the island's long-standing Roman Catholic tradition. The major cultural event is the Poklade, or carnival. The island largely relies on its natural environment to attract tourists each season. In 2006 the Croatian Government designated the island and its archipelago a nature park.[6] Some conservancy groups have demanded the island receive heritage status.

  1. ^ a b c Ostroški, Ljiljana, ed. (December 2015). Statistički ljetopis Republike Hrvatske 2015 [Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia 2015] (PDF). Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia (in Croatian and English). Vol. 47. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. p. 47. ISSN 1333-3305. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference belamaric was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census 2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Duplančić Leder, Tea; Ujević, Tin; Čala, Mendi (June 2004). "Coastline lengths and areas of islands in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea determined from the topographic maps at the scale of 1 : 25 000" (PDF). Geoadria. 9 (1). Zadar: 5–32. doi:10.15291/geoadria.127. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  5. ^ Lastovo Municipality Spatial Plan – Exposition of the Plan, p. 4
  6. ^ "Lastovsko otočje – 11. hrvatski park prirode". www.lastovo.org (in Croatian). Park prirode Lastovo. Retrieved 2009-05-12.