Franciscan monastery Kuna
The Kuna Franciscan Monastery is a Franciscan monastery (OFM) consecrated to Our Lady of Loreto in the municipality of Orebić in the Kuna Peljeska district in Croatia .
The monastery is located a little outside the village. The church "Gospa Loretska" was built in 1681. The Franciscan Vicko de Lupis Vukic was Bishop of Ston and gave this church to the Franciscans from Dubrovnik in 1705 . The Franciscans founded their branch in 1708, they expanded the church and opened a school in their convent house. The construction plan for the monastery was to make the building triangular, but this was not completed. The monastery is now inhabited by monks and nuns.
The reconstruction of the church into a three-aisled complex, the first in the Republic of Dubrovnik , took several years; the church was only consecrated in 1714 by Bishop Frane Volantić from Ston. The builders were from Korčula . The baroque church is made of natural stone and is entered via a simple portal that is flanked by two simple windows. The front is completed by a rosette . The central nave has vaulted openings that also let light into the aisles .
The marble altars inside come from the 18th and 19th centuries by the Brutapele family of artists. The main altar bears a wooden sculpture of the Mother of God "Delorite". She carries the baby Jesus and is surrounded by two angels. The sculpture is made of dark gilded cedar wood and was created by local artists in the 18th or 19th centuries. The painting on the north side altar shows the baptism of Jesus . It was painted by Celestin Medovic , who lived in the monastery, in 1914. The picture on the south side altar shows St. Francis of Assisi and dates from the 18th century and is a Venetian work. The sculpture of St. Anthony of Padua dates from the 19th century.
The monastery on the south side of the church also has an extensive collection of local art in the form of paintings, liturgical silver dishes and sculptures. There are two statues of Ivan Mestrovic in the gallery. The oldest picture is a triptych from the 16th century. In addition, the monastery preserves some valuable manuscripts, such as a Bible - incunabula of the 1545th
The bell tower on the south side has three floors and is surrounded by balustrades decorated with vaults and rosettes. It was only completed by local builders in 1772.
A black Madonna , the so-called "Delorita", is walled in on the outside wall of the church , which is older than the existing church building. Two legends entwine around this representation:
- The statue was intended for Loreto in Italy and was transported from Africa on a Venetian ship. Pirates attacked the ship and brought their booty to Kuna. To avoid excommunication by the Pope , they donated a church and walled up the Madonna somewhat hidden on the back.
- The statue originally had its place in the church. However, the many supplicants disturbed the church, which is why the Madonna was built into the church wall.
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Coordinates: 42 ° 57 ′ 47.2 " N , 17 ° 20 ′ 34.1" E