Stradun — also called Placa — is the limestone-paved main street of Dubrovnik's Old Town, and one of the most dramatic urban thoroughfares in the Mediterranean. Stretching roughly 300 metres between the Pile Gate to the west and the Luža Square to the east, it was built in the 12th century over a former sea channel that once separated the Roman settlement of Ragusa from the Slavic mainland. Over the centuries it became the beating heart of the Republic of Ragusa, a fiercely independent city-state that flourished through maritime trade and diplomatic cunning for over four centuries. The street's current look — uniform baroque facades in warm honey stone, identical arched doorways, and red-shuttered windows — dates from a systematic rebuild after the catastrophic 1667 earthquake that levelled much of the city.
Neighbourhood