Sveta Marija, Dubrovnik

Sveta Marija is a votive church within a convent complex at Danče, accompanied by a cemetery and the remains of a 15th-century quarantine station. This church was built in 1457, about 200 metres west of Dubrovnik’s old town. It is especially notable for paintings by two Dubrovnik masters: Lovro Dobričević’s 1465 polyptych on the main altar and Nikola Božidarević’s 1517 polyptych.

At the entrance, the Gothic-Renaissance portal carries a relief of the Virgin Mary. The surrounding complex preserves the memory of one of Dubrovnik’s earliest lazarets, among the world’s earliest quarantine facilities. A living custom continues here: the nuns greet boats passing along the coast by waving and ringing the bell. In 2007, Dubrovnik marked the church’s 550th anniversary.