Church of St. Charles Borromeo

Karlobag, in Croatia, sits on the narrow strip of coast beneath the southern Velebit mountains, looking across a channel to the island of Pag. It is a quiet, windy little town that has been destroyed and rebuilt more than once, since this coast was a frontier between the Ottoman lands, Venice and the Habsburgs. The town's name recalls a Habsburg emperor, Charles, and the Church of St. Charles Borromeo, dedicated to a 16th-century Italian cardinal and saint whose name matched his, belongs to that same history of rebuilding under imperial rule.

The church is a Baroque building, and its architecture is the plain, solid kind found in Adriatic towns of the period, with a simple façade, a bell tower and a spacious nave. St. Charles Borromeo was an archbishop of Milan and a leading figure of the Catholic reform movement after the Council of Trent, famous for his care of the sick during the plague of 1576. Habsburg rulers named for Charles often favoured him as a patron, and churches dedicated to him were built in many parts of their lands. Dates and details of the Karlobag church are not well established, so it is best to approach it as a local landmark with a real but modest history.

The church stands in the old part of town, close to the sea, with the mountains rising steeply behind. The setting is part of its charm, because the contrast between stone, sea and mountain is striking, and the wind off Velebit often sweeps the square. Inside the church, the atmosphere is quiet and slightly dim, as in many Dalmatian parish churches, and the interior may contain altars, paintings and church furnishings from different periods. Access depends on services and the parish, so it is wise to ask locally, and to dress modestly.

The church forms part of a group of historic sites in Karlobag. The Capuchin Monastery, the ruins of the Fortica above the town and an archaeological site of the ancient settlement all help to tell the story, and Karlobag Beaches, Tatinja Beach and the Kubus offer places to swim and rest. The town is a good stop on the Adriatic coastal road.

The church suits history lovers, architecture fans and travellers following the coastal highway. A visit takes about twenty minutes, and it fits naturally into a walk through the old town.