“Take a walk” time of the year in – Central Dalmatia
June 5, 2020
Pelegrin – the capital of the Adriatic Sea
June 17, 2020
Love above all - Roko & Cicibela
Cicibela was the nickname of the daughter of the poor bearer Špiro and his wife Manda. Cicibela`s real name was Dujka, after the patron saint of Split - St. Duje; her birth house is in Veli Varoš, in Sv. Frane 30, where she spent her childhood in poverty with her parents. Cicibela was actually the nickname that people of Split used for cats, but the cuddly girl was given the same nickname in one of the local taverns she went to with her parents. At the age of eighteen, Cicibela`s parents died and she was left alone, with no relatives, no one to protect her and guide her through life, and the worst, her parents couldn't afford education so she was not able to read, write or do any other job. Since the death of her parents she became the object of ridicule by wealthy citizens.
The fisherman Roko lived in a ruined boat on Mateuska. Roko had nothing and no one but the boat he inherited from his father. Roko was a self-educated fisherman, and it was his only source of income. Unfortunately the boat was in disrepair and Roko never managed to catch enough fish to make money to repair the boat. Roko was sensitive to the weak, he hated overpowering people who didn’t care about others. He presented himself as the antichrist, did not believe in politics and all he wanted was a peaceful life in which Cicibela would be his "queen".
One day, Cicibela begged the merchant to give her a crust of bread in exchange for her father's old cariole. The merchant rudely refused, starting to insult her. Luckily there was Roko who wisely silenced the merchant, took Cicibela by the hand, took her to his crumbling ship and gave her food. From that moment on, Rocco and Cicibela did not separate.They got married in the church of the Holy Cross in Velovac, one day after the feast of St. Valentin, and began their married life in a boat on Matejuška.
Roko and Cicibela lived a hard life, sometimes they had nothing to eat, their unborn child died, a strong storm one evening completely destroyed Roko's boat - their home. Towards the end of their lives, someone offered them a dilapidated house not far from their Matejuška: “The only thing they missed was the close wooden bottom of the missing dormitory, because in their new home they had to sleep on the bare ground. Tightly clinging body to body, they spent nights in the darkness of a damp cottage, their memories merging into a common story. Together they followed the arrivals and departures of the souls of their missing friends, the souls who visited them in times of greatest silence. They no longer needed to eat or drink because they lived off the memories that warmed them on the moist soil of their potluck. And then came the long rains in agreement with the winter cold, and nailed them to their earthen bed. Holding hands, they listened to the messages of infinite distances that approached them, and their foreheads burned together, as in the old days when they first spent the night together in Roko's gajeta (boat) on Matejuška. They no longer needed or could speak, and their eyes closed with wonderful helplessness. And so they left together….
In today's Split, Roko and Cicibela are an example of eternal and sincere love, an example of two people who had nothing but each other. Two people who loved and respected each other in good and evil, in health and disease. Although they had no children, and although during their lives they thought they did not belong to the world in which they lived,.. they belonged, they still belong today. With each new song, with each new memory, two poor lovers come to life again in the eyes of every person who passes through the streets of Split and their story still teaches us that in fact - life is pretty simple and all we need is love.
Among the many songs dedicated to Roko and Cicibela, the most famous one says: “A fistful of tears, a bag full of laughter. What is life other than fantasy?”
