Rector's Palace
Seat of the Ragusan republic's rectors, now the Cultural History Museum of Dubrovnik.
For most of the life of the Republic of Ragusa this building housed the rector, the council chambers, the state administration, the armoury, the powder store and the prison. Two explosions in the gunpowder magazine, in 1435 and 1463, and the earthquake of 1667 meant repeated rebuilding, so the palace now combines Gothic arcading with Renaissance and Baroque work. Onofrio della Cava directed the first reconstruction; Michelozzo and Salvi di Michele were among those who followed, and Juraj Dalmatinac carved some of the capitals.
Since 1872 the palace has served as a museum, and it now holds the Cultural History Museum of the Dubrovnik Museums group. The display fills more than a dozen rooms and covers the government of the republic, its portraits, furniture, textiles, coins, weapons, clocks and pharmacy jars, with the rector's quarters and the council hall arranged much as they would have been. The arcaded atrium, with its statue of the merchant Miho Pracat, is used for concerts during the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.
Highlights
- Gothic and Renaissance arcaded atrium at the heart of the old town
- Rooms of the Ragusan government, including the council hall and rector's quarters
- Collections of portraits, furniture, coins, clocks and pharmacy ware
- Atrium used for Dubrovnik Summer Festival concerts
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