Stradun & Rector’s Palace

The Stradun was laid out after the 1463 fire that destroyed the wooden houses of the marshy channel that once divided the old town, and it was paved in limestone in the 15th century, giving it the marble shine it still has. The Rector’s Palace was built in the 15th century by the architect Onofrio di Giordano della Cava, rebuilt after a gunpowder explosion and the 1667 earthquake, and served as the seat of the government of the Republic of Ragusa — the rector lived here for his one-month term. The Franciscan monastery at the Pile end holds a pharmacy that has been operating since 1317.