| Look carefully at the bell in the tower that crowns the east end of Stradun, and you’ll notice the figures of two men, poised to strike with hammers. If your zoom isn’t up to the task of making them out clearly, you can see their two older brothers in the Sponza palace next door. Their green color is a result of their copper composition rather than their roots on Mars. They are affectionately known as zelenci – 'the green ones' – or, individually, Maro and Baro, the descendents of the two original wooden figures. The bell is the only original part of the tower – an older one dating back to 1444 was destroyed and rebuilt in 1928. The bell weighs two tonnes and was cast by a master craftsman famed far and wide for casting bells and cannons: Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin - or John the Baptist of Rab Island. The tower’s clock with its sunburst centrepoint is rather lovely in its simplicity. |