Korčula is, after islands Lokrum and Mljet, the third most densely wooded island of Croatia. There is much evidence of a highly-developed social life on Korčula even in the 13th century. Foundation time of the town is unknown but Konstantin Porfirogenet writings about town on the island refer to location of preserved town core from the middle age period. 

Venetian were governing Korčula from 1420 till the decline of the Republic in 1797. Korčula was regulated as a town in socio-political sense already in 13^th century.

All this is demonstrated with communal statute initiated in 1214, documented from 1265. Town layout adopted the natural topography. 

Main street runs north-south and on the highest point in the middle of peninsula there is a rather large square (formed later on in time by widening the main street). Other parallel streets are perpendicular to the main street, descending towards west or east coast. In this way a special urban entity was formed as an original in its scale. 

There are 300 of two and three story houses of simple rectangular floor plan in the town, mostly in the gothic and renaissance with partly baroque interventions. Due to the developed stone-cutting, the building boom came in the beginning of XV century. 

Almost all public and residential buildings were built or reconstructed during that time. Stone-cutters got commissions from Dubrovnik, Hvar, Zadar, Kotor, Venice and Mantova. On the near by islands (Vrnik) many quarries were opened with numerous workshops and masters. 

There are late Gothic and Renaissance buildings from the 15^th and 16^th centuries, and Baroque examples from the 17th and 18th centuries.  It took local builders 150 years to erect the cathedral of St. Marcus, the most valuable building in Korčula. It is a three bay basilica with the exuberant gothic-renaissance stone hewn decoration on elevation and in interior. Korčula was densely populated with 2500 residents in the middle of XVI. century. During XVII. century the old bishop' s palace was rebuilt and decorated with a wide balcony, series of heraldic shields and inscriptions. At the same time some of the houses got new floor plan solutions with courtyards, gardens and backyards, decorated staircases and balconies. Palaces Španić, Ismaelis and Arneri are the excellent representatives of intervention. (Enciklopedija hrvatske umjetnosti, Leksikografski zavod 'Miroslav Krleža', Zagreb 1996.)

In Blato, situated like Rome on seven hills, there is another, equally interesting knights' dance called "kumpanija" (company). It symbolizes the struggle for freedom.

Korčula undoubtedly holds a privileged position among Croatian islands. Here there are perhaps even more legends, tales and monuments than anywhere else. The island has a number of famous towns including Korčula , Lumbarda and Vela Luka.

The oldest written monument in Croatia, the "Lumbardska psefizma", in Greek, was found in Lumbarda. According to legend, Korčula was established by the Trojan hero Anthenor in the 12th century BC. The Italian town of Padua also claims him as its founder. 

Ancient Greek and Roman writers speak of the city of Korkyra Melania, established by Greek colonists from Cnidus, which had, according to the same sources, been minting its own money as early as the 4th century. 

The Latin version of the name is Corcyra Nigra, Black Corcyra, because of the thick woods on the island. Korčula is, after Lokrum and Mljet, the third most densely wooded island of Croatia. There is much evidence of a highly-developed social life on Korčula even in the 13th century. The Statute of Korčula , signed in 1214, prohibited the slave trade for the first time in Europe. It also spoke about the order and management of the city. The Statute rules were in force until the arrival of French authorities in 1806. At the end of the 13th century, a battle was fought between the navies of Venice and Genoa in the channel near the city. 

The famous travel writer, Marco Polo, who was, according to some sources, born in Korčula, was said to be involved. The people of Korčula were famous stonemasons, shipbuilders and seafarers. They left their mark in stoneworks, sculptures and buildings all over Dalmatia, but they saved their best works for their own city. (www.croatia.net)