Small town big award

by Milena McCartney

Hvar Island in Croatia was voted the best island in Europe in 2020 and 2021 according to the CondeNast' Travel Magazine. Beautiful beaches, sunny skies, award winning restaurants, celebrities enjoying summer days, that's Hvar town - party central on the island.  On that same island less than 10 miles from Hvar Town is a different reality - small villages with beautiful beaches, lush green hills, sleepy streets, declining population and an increasing number of abandoned houses. The young people who still live there have one dream - to leave the island.  And never come back!
However, those who were determined to stay on the island decided to do the best they could to keep their villages alive. Three villages in Kabal Peninsula, Hvar, applied for funding through one of the European Union regional development initiatives to turn their area into an “ethno-eco village”.  Shortly after they received a green light from the EU, one of those settlements, Rudina, welcomed their first tourists.  Beautifully renovated stone houses overlooking the Adriatic sea, cobblestone streets so narrow you can’t drive through, the smell of lavender in the air, freshly baked bread in the morning, a tourist's paradise!