The Dominican Monastery and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Viganj

Autor obrađuje dominikanski sklop Gospe od Rozarija u mjestu Viganj, gdje je obuhvatio povijest nastanka samostana godine 1671. do njegova napuštanja i prodaje početkom XX. stoljeća. Na osnovu dostupne pisane građe dat je pregled tijeka gradnje, kao i osoba koje su bile najzaslužnije za njegov nastanak. U drugom dijelu rada autor donosi niz novih viđenja umjetnina koje se nalaze u crkvi, s osobitim naglaskom na ciklus slika s kraja XVII. i početka XVIII. stoljeća. Veliko platno na pjevalištu nastalo je po grafičkom predlošku fresaka iz crkve San Agnese na trgu Navona u Rimu, a oltarna pala Obrezanja Kristova čuva djelomično sačuvani potpis dosad nepoznatog slikara "Matta". Uz import oltara iz južnotalijanskog grada Lecce i rada domaćih korčulanskih klesara, autor se pozabavio i domišljatim arhitektonskim rješenjem učvršćivanja statike crkve prigodom njene gradnje.The author of this article traces the former Dominican monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Viganj, the construction of which started in 1671 and was completed in 1715. It recounts the short history of the Dominican presence on the Pelješac peninsula as early as the 13th century, illustrated by the individual histories of the bishops of Ston, and the outstanding role the members of this order have had in the clerical history of this ancient bishopric. The building of the new monastery was undertaken by the Dominicans in collaboration with the ship-owner and Hungarian nobleman Marko Krstelj from Viganj, representative of the new and wealthy upper class of the Republic of Dubrovnik. This remote spot in the Republic witnessed the arrival of numerous objects from Sicily, Naples, Venice, including a series of paintings in the church attributed to an unknown baroque author who imitated the graphics of Nikola Dorigni from 1685, which had been drawn according to the frescoes of Ciro Ferri in the church of Santa Agnese at the Navona square in Rome. The altar piece created in the workshops of the city Lecce in southern Italy is a unique example of its kind in Croatia and draws the expert’s attention. So does the renaissance Madonna with Christ from the 15th century, most likely a part of the polyptich from Dubrovnik which must have been brought to Viganj afterwards. The monastery complex with the tranquil outline of the church and some remarkable details, such as the portal to the monastery church, reveal an architect with a strong affinity toward the blending of the traditional with the new baroque understanding of space and artistic expression. Despite the short presence of the order in the monastery, from the close of the seventeenth to the end of the eighteenth century, it has greatly contributed to Croatian artistic heritage with several valuable pieces of art and an interesting baroque complex