Villa IVANDIĆ II
Promajna (Makarska)

Not many towns in the world count their history in thousands of years, but the town of Omiš is one of them!
The mouth of the Cetina river was first permanently inhabited in ancient times, more than 2000 years ago, and historians believe that the origins of the present-day Omiš are to be found in the small settlement of Oneum, which lay at the very foot of the impressive mountain guarding the town from the north – Omiška DInara.
Over the centuries the local people started building their houses closer to the sea, and for a very good reason. The inhabitants of medieval Omiš were, as a matter of fact, pirates!
Throughout the entire 12th and 13th centuries the pirates of Omiš ruled the seas from Omiš to Dubrovnik. And all ships sailing by this small town at the Cetina mouth were forced to pay tribute for free passage. Or risked enaging in a battle against the ruthless pirates of Omiš in which only few came out the winners.
Lead by the famous dukes of the Kačić family, the pirates of Omiš thus ruled a large part of the Adriatic for almost two centuries. Attacking large merchant ships of rich cities such as Split, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Venice, and even papal galleons sailing across the Adriatic on their way to the far Palestine.
As time went by, the pirates of Omiš grew so powerful that in 1221 Pope Honorius III organized a crusade against them. In which his army was defeated. However, no more than 60 years later, the Venetians. Again under the Pope’s order. Launched yet another crusade against the infamous pirates from the Cetina river, this time with somewhat more success.

The history of Split is over-flowingly rich and turbulent to fit in just a couple of sentences. Although the Split area was earlier inhabited by the Greek colonies, Emperor Diocletian should be considered its first citizen and founder. Starting his lavish villa of around 300 square meters near the great city of Salona in 293 AD, only to retire from the Roman throne. Within its walls after building it for ten years.
Turbulent centuries that followed turned the villa into a city. Conceived by the fugitive inhabitants of Salona who fled from the Avars and Slavs. Many authorities changed hands in the city which, in the years to come, grew beyond the Palace walls, from the Croatian Kings in the 10th century, through the Hungarian and Venetian administration, to the French rulers and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Modern age and the 20th century "moved" Split from the kingdom of Yugoslavia. Through tragic, yet heroic times of the Italian and German occupation during the Second World War when Split was one of the centres of anti-fascist resistance, to the Socialist Yugoslavia and the present period of the free and independent Croatia, member of the European Union.
Tumultuous history leaves its trace in the everyday life of the city. That always moved steadily forward, remaining the centre of this part of the coast to this day. In those mixtures of history layers, clumsiness was inevitable. Sometimes even rashness in development, but today it is all a part of its originality. Great city beats today with the silent whisper of history, the lively spirit of youth and charm of the Mediterranean yet in every way also Croatian warmth...

Medjugorje is a little village in southern part of Herzegovina in the present-day state Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Herzegovina is bordered to the Southeast by Montenegro, to the East by Bosnia, to the Southwest by Croatia and in one area forms part of the Adriatic coastline. The main cultural and administrational center is Mostar. A city renown as the most picturesque in Balkan Mediterranean.
The climate of Medjugorje is influenced by the nearby sea and it’s height above sea level with it’s pre-dominant gentle winters and warm summers. It is characterized by rainfall in the colder period of the year.
Medjugorje ("between the hills") has become well known in Bosnia-Hercegovina, and the world, because of six young people who claim to have seen visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Beginning on June 24, 1981, the Blessed Mother appeared to. And later told the visionaries, God sent her to our world to help us convert our hearts and lives back to Him. Our Lady's call is one of Peace, Love, Faith, Conversion, Prayer, and Fasting.
We are each challenged to answer Our Lady's call to change our lives. And hearts back to God. The following links to 100+ documents of information, interviews, and testimonies provide a well rounded. And accurate account and perspective of one of the greatest events in modern history.