CENTRAL CEREMONY COMMEMORATING 400 YEARS SINCE THE GREAT RAVAGE OF PERAST

Saturady, June 22
Our Lady of Carmel Square, 8:30 p.m.
CENTRAL CEREMONY COMMEMORATING 400 YEARS SINCE THE GREAT RAVAGE OF PERAST

Collegium Musicum Academic Choir
Dragana Jovanović, conductor
Soloists: Milica Lalošević, soprano, and Jana Cvetković, mezzo-soprano
Participants: Đorđe Krivokapić, Sara Lakičević, Ratimir Martinović, Andro Radulović, Tina Ugrinić

On June 22, 1624, a fleet of about fifteen galleys carrying around two thousand Barbary pirates from Tunisia and Algeria sailed into the Bay of Kotor. Passing by Herceg Novi, then under Ottoman control, they headed towards Perast, which, along with Kotor, was part of the Venetian Republic. In the evening, the pirates attacked Perast, which lacked sufficient defenders as many men were at sea. They ravaged the town, plundering houses and churches, and kidnapping residents, including children, women, and the elderly, leaving behind devastation and 415 abducted souls. Despite significant losses, the people of Perast did not surrender. They refused to abandon their homes and strove to reclaim the kidnapped, demonstrating their resilience and bravery during the difficult times that followed. The total damage from the raid was estimated at over one hundred thousand ducats. The effort to liberate the kidnapped population involved direct ransoms, diplomatic efforts, and the sale of property. In the face of these hardships, Perast managed to survive and strive onwards, continuing to fight against pirates and Ottoman domination and proving its indefatigable will and resilience. The commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Great Ravage of Perast, an event that deeply impacted the history and spirit of this Adriatic jewel, is demonstrative of the unflagging commitment of the locals and local institutions to further illuminate and interpret the circumstances of the event and its consequences, and to explore the key factors that enabled Perast's recovery and development.

"Before me again is the Bay of Kotor... it must be that such a yearning, like a vision, passed through the hearts of the four hundred people of Perast when they were taken into slavery in the distant year of 1624... Accustomed to the fate of sailors, to constantly leave and return, with their eyes fixed on the sky which always returns the sun to the day and life after a storm, they surely hoped for their own return to Perast... 400 years of remembrance of a tragic event would be an expected basis for creating a musical program full of melancholy, sorrow, and nostalgia... if it weren't for a place that has produced people who, for much longer, connected by boats and a shared duty, have persistently submerged stones to rebuild the island of Our Lady of the Rocks. The strong desire for the endurance and survival of the people of Perast was the inspiration for capturing musically what feelings they must have gone through over the past centuries. The multiple layers of tonight's event are displaced into a metaspace where the past, present, and future meet. This metaspace is colored by the music of all those who celebrate freedom and understand the fidelity of love..."

Dragana Jovanović

Partners of the program: