L'île, à pied
L'île, à pied

The Theatre in the Arsenal

Hvar Town harbour

theatre · harbour · 1612
The Arsenal on Hvar's harbour — the stone gate that holds Europe's first public theatre
Photo · Schorle / Wikimedia Commons

The Arsenal was built for galleys, between 1292 and 1331. The theatre occupies its upper floor: opened to the town in 1612, boxes added with the Theatre Society of 1803, the neo-baroque look of the mid-nineteenth century. Two old scenographies survive. It is not a museum piece. It is still a house for evenings, when the square has gone quiet and the harbour holds the boats.