The Dominican monastery and the church
The Dominicans monks arrived in Dubrovnik in 1225. The construction of the present monastery complex with the church of St Dominic started at the beginning of the 14th century at the most sensitive strategic point of the city and soon it was integrated in the city's defense system and encircled by the city walls. The present single-naved church was rebuilt for several times. Its oldest part is the Gothic pentagram apse and stone altars originating from the 16th century. There is a late-Gothic stone pulpit from the 15th century, as well as the chapels of the Ragusian noble families Gundulić (on the left) done by Luko Paskojev in 1536, and Lukarević (on the right) sculpted a little earlier. The main façade and the southern wall of the church were destroyed in the 1667 earthquake and then restored in the 17th century in the Baroque style. Only the portal of the southern wall of the church, in its rich Romanesque-Gothic style sculpted by Bonino of Milan in the 15th century, is preserved. The eastern wing contains the monastery's impressive art collection that includes the paintings from Dubrovnik's finest 15th and 16th century artists (work of Lovro Dobričević, Mihajlo Hamzić and Nikola Božidarević), and the work of outstanding artists from abroad like a precious painted cross made by the great Venetian master Paolo Veneziano from the 14th century, the altarpiece St Magdalene by famous Titian from the 16th century, Charonton, Vasari and Lorenzo di Credi. From the recent Croatian painters the altarpiece The Miracle of St Dominic by Vlaho Bukovac and some paintings of Ivo Dulčić are worth seeing. The museum also keeps a great number of objects for church ceremonial service, relics and gold jewellery. The most valuable part of the monastery complex is a Gothic cloister constructed by local artisans after the designs of the Florentine architect Massa di Barolomeo. The local artisans also finished the church tower the construction of which was started by Checo from Monopoli in 1390. The Gothic vestry was built by the notable artisan Paskoje Miličević from Dubrovnik in 1485. Located in various cloisters, are the graves of Dubrovnik's noble families, notable writers and artisans. There is also a rich archive and a library that include 16.000 volumes, among those about precious 220 manuscripts and 240 incunabula.