Petar Hektorovic - Croatian Renaissance Man, Noble, Visionary, Ecologist and Playwright

Petar Hektorovič, who lived in the Renaissance era, is from the island of Hvar in Dalmatia. Today, the island of Hvar is famous for its numerous days of sunshine, some say 266 a year, plus the resulting tourist appeal. Complete with fishing boats, cruisers, luxury hotels, lavender bushes, Hvar is a Mediterranean island. Its fauna and flora include aloe vera plants, cactus plums, palm trees, orange and lemon trees, rosemary bushes, and olive trees, to name a few. Complete with the rocky architecture, outdoor coffee pavilions, sparkling blue sea, Hvar can be compared to paradise.

Petar is a treasure in the annals of Croatian history. He was not only born and lived during the Renaissance, he conducted his affairs in a fair and just fashion and played the part of a Renaissance man. Born of high status, he was moralistic and educated.

In Petar's day, there was more to think about besides the fantastic weather. In his era, people of the Mediterranean had to deal with the constant threat of Turk invaders.

He was fully aware of the Turkish threat, which continued to plague the region as the Ottoman Empire expanded northward towards modern day Croatia and beyond. During the 1500s, the Turks' expansionary politics took Croatians prisoner, burning the towns and bringing the people, mostly women in children, to be servants and slaves in Turkey. The men were mostly killed on sight. An army of several thousand would be sent to annihilate a town containing several hundred, unarmed people.

He wrote the play, "Fishing and Fishermen’s Talk (Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje), in 1568.

• The Fortress (or Tvrdalj in Croatian), is the restful summer house and walled garden of the Renaissance poet and aristocrat Petar Hektorović, It is located in the old town (Stari Grad) of Hvar Town on Hvar Island. The centerpiece is a cloister surrounding a turquoise pond stocked with mullet.

Petar looked ahead, and knew that fish might disappear. The waters could be poisoned, the species might die, and then what? For that reason, he prepared the world's first fish hatchery on Hvar.

His father was named Marin, was a nobleman, and was directly involved with the welfare of the people. When the Turks invaded Hvar Island - focusing on Stari Grad itself, Petar barely survived. Jumping into the Adriatic Sea (Jadransko More in Croatian), A fisherman's boat prevented him from drowning, and he escaped with them all the way to Italy. To save himself and other citizens of Stari Grad in the future from future Turkish attacks, he built the Fortress, located close to his nearby palace. Peter died in 1572, the same year that the Turks again attacked Island Hvar in Croatia. The sad thing is that most of Europe didn't get involved in protecting the citizens of Croatia, until the Turks from the Ottoman Empire made their way up to Austria in the mid-19th century. At that point, they could not longer turn a blind eye.

His name Petar Hektorović is pronounced - peh-tahr HECK-torovitch. In Croatia and along the coastline in particular, the Renaissance arrived a bit earlier. Scholars estimate that the awakening came in the 14th to 15th century. His lifespan ranging 1487-1572 coincides with many other Renaissance men, some of whom are listed here:

• Francis Bacon, 1561-1626
• Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564
• Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616
• Cristoforo Colombo, 1451-1506
• Marin Držić, 1508-1567
• Dominikus El Greco, 1540-1614
• Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642
• Vasco de Gama, 1460-1524
• Hans Holbein, 1498-1543
• Julije Klović, 1498-1578
• Nikola Kopernik, 1573-1543
• Ignacije Loyola, 1491-1556
• Hanibal Lučić, 1485-1553
• Martin Luther, 1483-1546
• Marko Marulić, 1450-1524
• Thomas More, 1478-1535
• Michel de Nostre Dame (Nostradamas) 1503-1566
• William Shakespeare, 1564-1616
• Leonardo DaVinci, 1452-1519
• Faust Vrančić, 1551-1617