The project's objective is to show only a part of the rich Dubrovnik's history and the peak of this splendid story for the visitors is the breathtaking and unforgettable view of the city roofs and Stradun, the most fascinating street in the world. That honorary loggia which offers an everyday view of the life performance accompanied by restless flight of swifts and swallows remains memorable in minds, in hearts and in photographs...
The Bell Tower through its History
In 1385 Dubrovnik joined the town-states of the Italian Peninsula, France, England and the Netherlands where the public clocks were placed to chime the exact time. The first clock, named after its manufacturer the Helias's clock as well as the bell were set up in so-called the Bell-ringer's Tower on the building of the Rector's Palace.
On the 18th February 1444 the City government took the decision of building the bell tower on the spot where it still stands. The mechanism of the Helias's clock was repositioned in that new 31 meter-high tower. A new clock plate and a new bell were placed there. Two human figures made in wood were striking the hours on the bell (Around 1478 the wooden figures were replaced by bronze ones, the well known "Bronze jacks".)
In the year 1780 the Ragusan government decided to replace the worn-out clock and the clock mechanism in the bell tower. Upon the recommendation of a distinguished Ragusan mathematician and physicist Ruđer Bošković, the manufacture of a new clock was confided to Pasko Baletin, a talented mechanic who was a Franciscan lay-brother. He divided the clock plate into 12 hours (until then it was divided in 24 hours) and fixed the bent clock-hands on it, the well known "octopus". Below the clock plate he gave a copper sphere built in. The sphere shows the phases of the moon. In tribute to the manufacturer Pasko Baletin and his extraordinary work there is a memorial plaque placed on the bell tower with the inscription:
A.(nno) D.(omini) M.D.C.C.L.X.X.XI. OPUS F.(ratris) PASCHALIS BALETIN. A. CANALIBUS. O.(rdinis) M.(inorvm) S.(ancti) FRANCI.(sci)
"In the year of Our Lord 1781 the work of Brother Paskoje Baletin from Konavle, from the order of the Minor Brothers of St Francis."
Major earthquakes from the first half of the 19th century severely damaged the bell tower and there was a threat of collapsing the cupola and the upper part of the tower. Therefore that part of the bell tower was removed. In March 1928 a wealthy expatriate Pasko Baburica, born at the island of Koločep near Dubrovnik with residence in the Chilean town Valparaiso, sent a message to his native town "...I have decided to pay all the costs for the restoration of our bell tower". The restoration of the bell tower started mid 1928 and in May 1929 the works were basically completed. Many residents of Dubrovnik climbed the scaffoldings to the top of the tower to enjoy the wonderful view and the restored tower.
In July 1929 the bell tower lit in all its beauty when the scaffolding was taken down. After 23 years the original bell from 1506 was placed back to the tower. From that moment the hammers of the bronze jacks' replicas were striking the hours on the bell as the original bronze jacks were restored and displayed in the Rector's Palace. The manufacture of the new clock mechanism and the clock plate was ordered from the same Italian company Fratelli Solari. The local craftsmen made the copper sphere with the phases of the moon. They also made the octopus (clock-hands). Beyond any doubt the clock plate was made on the model of the work of Pasko Baletin from 1781. The bell tower also got two illuminated openings with the dial of hours (Roman numerals) and minutes (Arabic numerals).
The celebration for completion the works on the bell tower was arranged on the 2nd February 1929, the day before the Feast of St Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik. The central happening of the Ceremony was the unveiling the memorial plaque honouring the benefactor with the inscription: "WITH GENEROSITY OF PASKO BABURICA THE BELL TOWER WAS RESTORED IN MCMXXIX".
The family Krasovac from Dubrovnik took care of the bell tower and the clock mechanism for almost 130 years. Dubrovnik's watchmakers Frano Krasovac, his son Frano and the ground son Tonći cared for the clock mechanism of the bell tower, repaired it and winded it up from 1877 till 2005. Moreover, in 1887 Frano Krasovac Senior took part in synchronizing the astronomic and mechanical values of the clock with the company Fratteli Solari. In 1906 Frano Krasovac Junior took part in the reconstruction of the old Baletin's clock as the museum exhibit.
On the bell tower there is also the memorial plaque dedicated to the Blessed John Paul II saying: HERE, BEFORE THE CHURCH OF ST.BLAISE ON THE 6th OF JUNE 2003 THE POPE JOHN PAUL II BLESSED THE CITY. DURING THE CELEBRATION OF THE SOLEMN MASS IN GRUŽ HE SAID: "FOR A LONG TIME I HAVE WISHED TO VISIT DUBROVNIK. MY WISH HAS BEEN FULFILLED TODAY. I AM GRATEFUL TO GOD FOR THAT!"
The sound of the bell from the tower could be recognized among the other bells of the nearby churches. The ringing power and the tone of this unique and familiar sound arise emotions in every of us for our affiliation to the City of Dubrovnik and its five centuries' old age gives it the historic and tourist value and attraction.