This black and white 1955 travelogue documents seaside towns along the Adriatic Coast in the aftermath of World War II, showing natural landmarks, historic architecture, European tourists, and local peoples of diverse ethnic backgrounds from Croatia and former Yugoslavia (TRT: 14:01).
Opening titles: “Adriatic Splendor” and credits (0:08). Sunbathers at Lake Bled, in the Julian Alps region of the Upper Carniolan region of northwestern Slovenia. Bled Island’s Church of the Mother of God on the Lake. Tourists ride a canopied sightseeing boat (0:40). Bled Castle. A chairlift ascends through forested mountainsides, carrying a passenger (1:13). A 1940s sedan automobile laden with luggage. Mountains along the Adriatic coast. The Kvarner Gulf’s resort town of Opatija. Boats at a dock, swimmers at a seaside resort. Middle aged men and women in bathing suits (1:53). A woman peels potatoes. Children play in the water. Adults on inflatable rafts. A panorama of the coastline (2:44). Harbor town of Pula in what is now Croatia. A mule pulls a couple riding a carriage. Young boys handle small fish and walk down narrow cobblestone streets. Fishermen prepare fishing nets, sewing together holes (3:13). Pula Arena, a Roman amphitheatre from the 1st century. Chairs are set up for a performance. Closeups of the ruins (4:03). Pula’s Temple of Roma and Augustus and Medieval town hall (4:29). A commercial cruise liner lands at the Island of Rab. Sailboats (4:40). A Partisan memorial statue and a nearby market (5:01). Šibenik, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik Cathedral (5:31). Krka Falls in what is now Krka National Park. Swimmers and nearby waterfalls (5:56). A string of coastal islands. Peasant women carry large bundles of sticks over their heads. A woman spinning thread. A rowboat. St. Francis Monastery (6:18). Kamerlengo Castle in the historic town of Trogir. Elderly men, one smoking a pipe. Trogir Cathedral and local pedestrians. A couple with an oxcart (7:22). The Fortress of Klis, a medieval embattlement near Split. A strolling man with an accordion leads a wedding procession (8:17). Street signs point to the town of Sinj. Spectators in bleachers for a horse tournament.A banner: “1715-1955.” Marchers in historical costumes. A brass marching band in berets (9:03). Onlookers wait in anticipation as a ring is affixed to a taut rope (10:06). A costumed rider with a lance mounts a horse and charges down a long path flanked by applauding spectators. Multiple riders lance the suspended ring (10:25). The barren, limestone, Karst region. Another seaside resort at Makarska, in the center of the Makarska Riviera (between Brela and Gradac), at the base of the Biokovo mountain. Sunbathers (11:11). A shepherd and his flock of sheep. A sign indicates Mostar and Blagaj. A picturesque river. A bridge, the “Stari Most” over the Neretva River (12:01). Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque in Mostar. A man with a mustache wearing a fez. Turkish/Muslim influenced architecture. Women shovel and carry dirt, repairing a road. A scenic wide shot of Mostar (12:57). “The End” (13:50).
Credits: Camera: Hal Morey and Alfred Berger; Script: Dmetar Culic; Narration: Ronald Leigh Hunt.
