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The legend of Miljenko & Dobrila, an unforgotten Dalmatian love story
Legend from the second half of the seventeenth century, story of the tragic love destiny of young couple from Kastel Luksic (small town in central Dalmatia). In the noble Vitturi family a daughter named Dobrila was born. Meanwhile the Rušinić family welcomed a son named Miljenko.
Just as all great love stories begin, their love was prohibited and it didn't take too long for the young couple to fall in love. Because of the hostility between their families, they were not allowed to see each other. From the moment their parents found out about their relationship, Dobrila was under strict surveillance and Miljenko was sent to Venice by his parents, to be as far as possible from his love. Even Miljenko has moved to Venice by force, it didn’t stop Dobrila’s father to arrange a wedding of his daughter to an elderly Trogir nobleman. As the couple still had an option of secret letters to each other, Miljenko found out about the wedding, he came back from Venice at the very moment when the newlyweds made their vows and he stopped the wedding.
To punish his daughter for the shame she inflicted on him, Dobrila’s father sent her to the monastery in Trogir, and to prevent Miljenko from finding her, her father ordered his murder. Organised murder failed, due to Miljenko's ingenuity. He disguised himself as a priest. Trying to find the love of his life, Miljenko came into a conflict with the law and because of that he took refuge in a monastery in Visovac. There he found a way to contact Dobrila, after few letters they managed to arrange an escape.
The escape of the young lovers forced Dobrila's parents to relent. Therefore, the couple was instructed to return to Kaštel Luksic to have a wedding. After the wedding ceremony took place in August 1690, Dobrila’s father, unable to bear that his daughter had married Miljenko, killed his son-in-law out of revenge on the bridge in front of the castle. Dobrila afterwards lost her sanity, fell ill and died shortly after. Her last wish was to be buried with Miljenko in the church of St. John in Kastel Luksic.
Their eternal resting place has forever engraved the message "Peace to the Lovers", and in Kastel Luksic there are still both castles, both families Vitturi's and Rushinic's.
In Kaštel Lukšić every year in the times of tourist manifestation «Days of Diocletian» (end of July), there is a showing of a theatre play called “The Legend of Miljenko & Dobrila” in the honour of the young lovers.
