Korcula then got passed around in the great game of empires that consumed the 19th century—the Austrians, French, and Russians would all stake their claim, and the British (never ones to resist the heady call of empire-expansion) planted their flag for a brief but productive two years from 1813.

And still the empires came, with control of this quiet, pretty island being shunted between the great powers like a minor prize that never quite settled with its new owners. The Austro Hungarians ruled for a while, then the Italians had a go, before Korcula finally became of part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

That’s a lot of empires, and you can only wonder how the locals felt, as another great power stalked in to assert their rule. You might imagine the villagers started to ignore the word from the top after a while, carrying on about their lives of fishing and farming vines and olives on terraces by the sea.