In the middle of the blue Adriatic, far from the mainland, four islands of special power and stories emerge from the sea. Svetac, once a lively fishing island, preserves the memory of life in harsh conditions and the struggle of man with the sea. Brusnik and Jabuka, born from fire, are unique in their magmatic origin and black rocks that protrude from the open sea like sculptures. Brusnik slowly "grows" from the sea, while Jabuka, resembling a black pyramid, defies everything, offering no shelter to a single ship. The most distant and largest of them, Palagruža, has been a landmark for sailors for centuries, a mythical place of ancient stories and the scene of numerous shipwrecks. These islands are not just geographical points on the map - they are natural monuments, witnesses of geological processes, fishing ventures and maritime legends. Each of them tells a different story, and together they form a unique whole - the black pearls of the open sea, the precious heritage of the Adriatic.

Located on the western part of the island of Vis, Komiža has grown for centuries along the sea, which has shaped its identity and everyday life. From the first records in the 16th century, through the immigration of families fleeing the Ottoman threat, to the fishing industry that has become the trademark of the place – history is intertwined with the sea and people. The visit of Pope Alexander III in 1177 is particularly memorable, when this was the first Croatian place visited by a pope. Legends such as the Route of Diomedes and archaeological traces testify to the thousand-year continuity of life and navigation, while tradition and nature preserve the story of the coexistence of man and the sea.

In Komiža, the sea is not just a space but also a destiny. For centuries, the people of Komiža lived alongside it and from it, carrying both its gifts and its dangers. Their lives were shaped by the ships they built, the language they spoke and the customs with which they invoked protection from heaven. Thus, a unique heritage was created – a combination of faith, knowledge and courage that still forms the heart of Komiža today. The fishermen and their boats were watched over by Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of travelers and the city, to whom they burned an old ship every winter as a sign of gratitude and prayer for the salvation of all others. From the need to survive on the high seas, the falkuša was born – a ship that hides two souls and which made the people of Komiža the first fishermen of the open sea. And in order to pass on all this knowledge, a special lingua halieutica developed, a fishermen's language intertwined with words about the sea, wind and catch. These are all threads of the same story – stories about Komiža, which for centuries has known how to love, respect and outwit the sea. Stories that today are not just memories, but living heritage, recognized and protected, and proudly carried into the future.

On the islands of Vis, Biševo and Sveca, churches have been preserved that testify to the millennial presence of Christianity and the Benedictine order in this part of the Adriatic. The Church of Our Lady of Planica on Vis, with its rare circular shape, is reminiscent of the Church of St. Donatus in Zadar, while on Sveca, the small church of St. Andrew has been preserved – the remains of a former Benedictine monastery from the 13th century. On Biševo, in the settlement of Polje, there is the Church of St. Sylvester, built in the mid-11th century, known for the Madonna of Biševo, one of the oldest images of the Virgin Mary in Dalmatia. These valuable monuments of culture and religion, today protected cultural properties, connect the islands into a unique historical and spiritual whole.