In the island of Brač, beach of Zlatni Rat, Croatia

 “The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.” ― E. Lockhart

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(in the Adriatic Sea that is part of Croatia) Brač, an island with an area of 153 square miles (~395 square km) is the largest island in Dalmatia and the third largest in the Adriatic. Lying southeast of the mainland city of Split, its maximum elevation (at 780 meters), is reached at Vidova Mountain (the highest point in the Adriatic islands.) The principal occupations of the inhabitants are fishing and agriculture; crops include figs, olives, almonds and wine grapes. Mechanized quarrying of marble provides a further export, and a tourist industry continues to be developed.

+ The main village is Supetar, and there is an ancient wall at the hamlet of Škrip, where stone was quarried to build Diocletian’s palace in Split. The island was occupied by the ancient Greeks and Romans and then (after power struggles in the Adriatic), in turn by pirates and the powers of Dubrovnik (the Ragusan republic), Venice, Bosnia, France, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with but a brief period of autonomy. In 1918 it was incorporated into Yugoslavia. During World War II, Yugoslav partisans and Allied special forces reclaimed Brač from the Germans in 1944.

+ The island is administratively divided into one city and seven municipalities, including 22 settlements. Though the island is part of the Split-Dalmatia County, it is not represented there as a whole, only through its city and municipalities. The division into seven municipalities and one city happened after the reorganization of Croatia following Croatian independence in 1991. (Before that was a single municipality in Yugoslavia with Supetar as its seat.) Still today, many of the administrative duties for the other seven municipalities are delegated to the city of Supetar. (Brač Airport is the largest airport of all the islands surrounding Split.)

+ Brač is famous for two things: its radiant white stone, used to build Diocletian’s Palace in Split (and, depending on whom you believe, the White House in Washington, DC) and Zlatni Rat, the pebbly beach at Bol that extends languidly into the Adriatic, and adorns many of the island’s tourism posters.

+ Croatia has no shortage of beautiful beaches, but Zlatni Rat stands out for its striking and unusual shape (which actually changes depending on the current). Though it looks like a golden sand beach, its shoreline is made up of smooth, tiny pebbles and stretches out for half a mile on either side of the tip. It is not just a place to lounge: Zlatni Rat is also a popular spot for windsurfing, jet-skiing, and stand-up paddle boarding. Zlatni rat’s elegance and appeal have made it the symbol of both the town of Bol and Croatia. Yet, it is not just its shape that makes it beautiful. It is surrounded by the crystal clear sea that goes from turquoise blue to dark blue in just 10 to 20 meters -- and it is bordered by pine trees planted by the locals to create natural shade.