- Title: CROATIA: Village turns Arthurian legends into tourist attraction
- Date: 2nd August 2012
- Summary: (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) CHILDREN WATCHING FESTIVITIES MEN DRESSED AS ROMAN SOLDIERS ESCORTING COACH CARRYING MAN DRESSED AS ROMAN EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN TOURISTS WATCHING CAESAR WITH SOLDIERS PASSING BY AND GREETING CROWD IGRANE HARBOUR AT NIGHT MAN DRESSED AS KING ARTHUR IN BOAT PULLING OUT SWORD FROM SEA TOURISTS WATCHING MEN IN BOAT RETURNING TO SHORE
- Embargoed: 17th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Croatia
- Country: Croatia
- Topics: Entertainment,Travel / Tourism
- Reuters ID: LVA4DXW3ZEJJ4Q1MKJ6J9I9E3OS3
- Story Text: The small village of Igrane on the Adriatic coast in southern Croatia hosted a festivity titled "King Arthur Night" on Wednesday (August 1), an event inspired by a theory that the real-life model for the legendary King Arthur was a Roman general who died in the area.
The one-day annual event, first held in 2011, had locals and tourists participating in historical re-enactments of scenes from Arthurian legends, including the highlight of King Arthur pulling out his legendary Excalibur sword from the lake, played this time by the sea in Igrane harbour.
The event also featured men dressed up as Roman soldiers, with the popular Croatian morning show television host Mirko Fodor playing Diocletian, a Roman emperor who had retired to a palace on the Dalmatian coast in the 4th century BC.
"This was just a perfect night, it is the best I have seen anywhere. We have been coming here for six years and it is the first time we have seen this kind of show," Czech tourist Mirek from Ceska Lipa said.
Other events of the night which delighted tourists included live action duels of gladiators and pirates and a beauty pageant.
Also on offer was a selection of local food prepared according to ancient recipes.
The locals are hoping that the event might make Igrane stand out among all the other towns along the Croatian coast and that it might bring in more tourists to Igrane and the Makarska Riviera, a 60 km long stretch of coast in southern Croatia where Igrane is located.
"This is something new in tourism, especially in our riviera, it might make Igrane distinctive, as well as the Rviera, Dalmatia, and even Croatia," painter based in Igrane Zarko Kumric said.
The festivity is based on some scholars' theory that a Roman army commander called Lucius Artorius Castus, whose short biography was found engraved on a memorial plaque just south of the modern city of Split in central Dalmatia, served as a real-life model for King Arthur legends and stories that were created in early mediaeval Britain.
The idea for the event was the brainchild of Emil Talijancic, mayor of Igrane, who heard about the theory and noticed the similarity of the name of Igrane and Arthur's legendary mother Igrayne.
According to Talijancic, the locals are not interested in revising history as much as raising the profile of their village and simply having a good time.
"The name of Igrane is pretty similar to the name of (King Arthur's mother) Igrayne. Also, a part of Igrane is called Zanjeva, which reminded us of Genevieve, so we thought why not make a copy of Romeo and Juliet, so that Igrane gets its own distinctive story which will promote tourism here. We are here to entertain ourselves and our tourists, we have no plans to dig or look for evidence," mayor of Igrane Emil Talijancic said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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