MONTENEGRO – Le bocche di Kotor

MONTENEGRO – Le bocche di Kotor

From ski slopes to the sea in just over 100 kilometers
from the pristine accursed mountains to the longest
and deepest canyon in Europe. And then monasteries carved into the rock. Mediterranean fields
with Venetian villages. Ancient forests and painted landscapes. Montenegro is a treasure chest of beauty. Its captivating
calling card is the Bay of KOTOR, also known as Boka, Illyrians And then Romans had a very active
naval activity here in the Bay of KOTOR, which is called
also the Boka, A sort of gulf, a inner sea
where the Adriatic Sea enters among these mountains, and creates a sort of protected lake. Several ancient towns have risen on its shores today. Almost nothing of that
commercial past remains since tourism has blossomed. In 200 years, these areas changed a lot So from mills, the main
economy is probably tourism, right? Yes. Life has changed a lot over these years. We used to live off our mills. Then we shifted to the maritime trade. But over time, the situation has changed. We’ve transitioned from mills to tourism. And is it satisfying? I mean… Absolutely. Absolutely. We are happy with tourism. Certainly tourism pleases everyone. We are very content. It gives us the chance to meet people
from all over the world. Learn about their traditions, cultures thoughts and share ideas. That’s how we met you as well True. We will meet Mr. Catovic later. His old mill has changed like Montenegro,
I enjoy my Sunday by waking up early in the small village of Risan, where it is
market day. Ham. Cheese. Olives of all kinds. Dried figs. At 8.30 in the morning,
the stalls are already crowded while the breeze
descending from the mountains brushes the surface of the bay. Then I move a few kilometers along its coast. I am right now on the ancient port of Perast According to old chronicles
in the 13th century here on the quay of Perast,
there were people cutting stones, building ships
and for its naval importance Perast gained from Venice,
during the Venetian domination, between the 15th to the 18th century, a sort of status of Independence. Perast’s seafarers were popular for their skills,
so the Venetians put them in command of their ships
during the battles against the Turks. After the end of the 18th century,
a decadence period started for this area because of the ruin of sailing
and the domination of the Austrian Empire and of France. But it came to new life recently with tourism. Fjords villages are made by a few lines of stone houses along the shoreline
where you can sit to read a book or simply laze around and then have a walk. The villages that gives its name to the bay is decidedly more frenetic. We can really see the Venetian influence
hearing Kotor. The Venetian domination was like for centuries long. So now, from the balcony
of the Cathedral of Kotor, I can see Venetian architecture
and double arched window. The people from Venice called the city
‘Cattaro’, and they also Italianized the names of the city
of the rest of the coast. On summer days it’s easy to be overwhelmed by crowds of tourists disembarking from cruise ships. The historic center has become a large open air attraction. Kotor looks like a mountain village on the sea because if you look at the stone buildings
with the mountain behind, it looks like a high altitude village. But in front of its huge city
walls, there are huge cruise ships. In order to escape the noisy alleys You can take the path
that climbs the mountains from the North gate of the city center. And if you’re really tough,
something you must do if you’re in Kotor is the ancient trail that goes up
to the fortress of Saint John. It’s really tough,
but you will never forget these views. I promise. At each switchback, the view is priceless. Reaching the fortress is a hard earned but well-deserved reward. And if you want to get rid of mass tourism
that you find in Kotor, you can reach several villages that are not too far
from Kotor, such as this one. Bjelila. They are fisherman villages,
and they preserve their authentic atmosphere. Clearwater reflects
the old stone fishermen’s houses, which now host tourists. In Bjelila you can forget about the passage of time,
however, large villas under construction,
mostly owned by Russian tycoons,
are ruining parts of the coastline. For years, their yachts
have been gathering in the Boka. It looks like all the richness
of the Mediterranean Sea has come here to Tivat. The new marina, the new harbor is stunning. It’s really rich. There are lots of huge yachts and new buildings. They invested a lot
in this part of the city. It’s a totally different scenario from the
the villages we have seen so far with their architecture,
traditional architecture. It’s a new and recent investment
that is just breathtaking, especially at the sunset,
look at the sun! A long time ago Morinje was a village of mills
on the shores of the bay and there is still one left that has belonged
to the same family for 200 years. Today it’s a tavern. So what was this place historically? In this village there used to be many mills for oil
and flour. People from the surrounding areas
came here because there are many springs. There were more than 40 meals. Mr. Catovic explains me that regional tourists came first, then those from the former Eastern Bloc, and finally, Westerners came. And then the tourist season
is getting longer and longer. Until the 1990s with the Cold War, there was isolation. Since the 2000s
foreigners started arriving. Do you think Montenegro is becoming more
and more popular in tourism, And in the next ten years it is exploding? Yes, maybe even sooner, if nothing else,
like the Coronavirus happens. In the next episode, we will reach
the highest peaks of Montenegro and then down to the deepest gorges. Keep traveling! Subscribe to the YouTube channel
‘Un reporter in valigia’

Dalle piste da sci al mare in poco più di centro chilometri. Dalle immacolate Montagne Maledette al canyon più lungo e profondo d’Europa. E poi, monasteri divorati dalla roccia, fiordi mediterranei con borghi veneziani, foreste millenarie e scorci dipinti da mani appassionate. Il Montenegro è un forziere di bellezza. Il suo ammaliante biglietto da visita sono le Bocche di Kotor.

(Per la traduzione si ringrazia Daniela Brncic)

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