STARI GRAD, a town and harbour on the north-western part of the island of Hvar; population. Main occupations include farming, viniculture, olive growing, fruit growing, grapes processing, fishing and tourism. Anchoring ground for yachts northeast of Cape Fortin; when the bora blows, yachts can find shelter in the coves Zavala and Tiha, when the sirocco blows, in the coves Graciste, Sveti Ante, Maslinica.

Stari Grad, the town of ancient history and cultural monuments, is today a modern tourist resort. The indents of the bay have beautiful beaches, and the northern coast of the bay offers underwater fishing opportunities. The nearby Kabal peninsula offers hunting pleasure (pheasants and hares).

A variety of accommodation facilities (hotels, apartments, bungalows), domestic specialities offered in the restaurants and wine cellars, especially seafood and famous Croatian wines, sports and recreational opportunities (tennis, basketball, football, boccia) including water sports (surfing, diving) attract many visitors to this corner of the Adriatic Sea, first discovered by the ancient Greeks.

The summer months offer numerous cultural and sports events: the Summer of Stari Grad, concerts, recitals, shows. Stari Grad hosts the International Summer Music School in July and August. The first Sunday in September attracts many swimmers on the Faros Marathon, International Croatia Cup in long-distance swimming.

The original habitation (Faros) was a Greek colony, established in 384 BC. The remains from the Roman and early Christian periods (mosaics covered by a sidewalk; the early Christian baptismal font and the church of St. John annexed in the 15th c.) bear witness to the continuity of life in Stari Grad. In 1205 Stari Grad was called Civitas Vetus. - Tvrdalj (built c. 1520), a fortified villa of the poet Petar Hektorovic, with Croatian and Latin inscriptions, a fish pond surrounded by arches and a park, is situated in the centre of the town. The Hektorovic monument stands on the square in front of the villa, and to the left is the Renaissance church of St. Roch (St. Rocco) built by Hektorovic in 1569.

The Baroque parish church of St. Stephen was built in the 17th and the 18th centuries. Stone blocks originating from the Greek walls and a relief depicting an ancient boat are built in the free-standing campanile (1753). The Dominican monastery was founded in 1482, burnt down during the Turkish assaults in 1571, later restored and fortified with a tower. The monastery keeps an old library and archives, a collection of paintings, stone monuments, a numismatic collection and a collection of fossils.

The picturesque square Skor, from the Baroque period, lies in the eastern part of the town. The houses of the families Machiedo, Politeo, Gelineo-Bervaldi, built between the 16th and the 18th centuries, are among the best examples of the town's architecture.