Saint Saviour's Church, Dubrovnik

A devastating earthquake shook Dubrovnik on May 17, 1520. About twenty people were killed, and several buildings suffered heavy damage. The local senate of the Republic of Ragusa in Dubrovnik decided that while it was bad, it could have been worse. Out of gratitude for divine forbearance, they called for a small votive church to be built.

Architect Petar Andrijić, from the island of Korcula, received the commission in 1520. The church of Saint Saviour, dedicated to Jesus Christ, is located near Pile Gate. It has one nave and a Gothic ribbed vault ceiling. The slender side windows have Gothic pointed arches. Still, the front facade shows Renaissance motifs.

The three-leaf curved top of the upper level and the semicircular apse are certainly Renaissance elements. The main portal archway is flanked by slender columns supporting a triangular pediment. The entablature above bears an inscription in Latin expressing gratitude to God that the town had been spared even worse destruction.

In 1667 Dubrovnik was hit harder than ever by another quake. Around 5,000 people were killed, and much of the city was flattened. But Saint Saviour's Church was miraculously spared. Even its elegant rose window survived intact. The church remains today as it was in 1667, emerging unmarred amid disaster.