Dine in a Hvar Palace This Summer: Paladini Restaurant

If I had to choose one street on Hvar to eat on this summer, it would be the small parallel street to the right of the main square looking from the cathedral. It is only a short street, and fairly narrow, but it has a culinary richness contained therein which is difficult to beat, both in terms of food and also history and architecture.

Choose from upmarket Giaxa, with its authentic stone arches, the slow food of Golden Shell, the party atmosphere of Lucullus, the spectacular terrace of Luna or the fabulous historic walled garden of the Palace of Paladini, which is often a great surprise to guests who chance  upon it - so much greenery and space right next to the pjaca. We will return to the food, which has always been excellent in our experience, but we thought a little historical background would be a good introduction. In the words of Paladini themselves... 

Restaurant Palace Paladini is located in the old ancient part of City of Hvar. We offer fish delicious, meat and vege specialities, greatest wines and champagnes (Dom Perignon/Rose, Crystal, Moet & Chandon...).

The palace where you are about to eat belonged to an old noble family from Hvar called Paladinić (Paladinis - Italian version; de Paladinis - Latin version).

Palace de Paladinis was built in the Renaissance style and is one of the most beautiful and outstanding Hvar palaces, situated in the southern part of the oldest nucleus of the town below the fortress known as Forto Spagnuolo. The upper palace Paladini was once the residence of Petar Hectorović (1487 - 1572).

The coat of arms can be found above the main entrance to the palace, on the family well erected in the garden, on the renaissance basin on the balcony of the palace and on the balustrade of the balcony bearing two motifs: a royal lily on the upper half and the eagle's wing of the Šubić family on the lower half.

The present-day form of the palace (ground-floor, three upper floors and a monumental balcony - one of the most beautiful in Dalmatia) was designed by Nikola Paladinić, son of Jakov, who fought very bravely in the 1470 - 1474 naval battle between Venetian and Turkish fleet. After the battle the Republic of Venice proclaimed him a knight of St Mark with a golden toga.

Palaces of Hvar noblemen provide clear evidence of economic prosperity and cultural development of local families in the 15th and 16th century. Furthermore, rich plebeian families always tried to keep up with noblemen, a fact demonstrated by their residental palaces (Vukašinović-de Lupis, Gargurić) which compare to the noblemen of the town Hvar (Lučić, Paladini, Hektorović, Gazarovic, Gargurić, Vukašinović...).

These were not constructed during the period of town`s greatest prosperity, but only after 1571 when the Turks burned down the town and 1579 when lightning struck the ammunition warehouse at the town fortress causing a tremendous catastrophe.

To learn more about the restaurant, visit the Paladini website, or even better, why not pop in for a meal - it is a very nice place, with great cool shade and an escape from the crowds in the summer months.