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path to the healer of souls

Gate of Ploce, the eastern entrance to Dubrovnik’s Old Town, Croatia

 

The gate is constructed on the same principle as the western gate (Pile), with external and internal portals, a stone bridge over the moat and a wooden bridge on the pickup.

 

The outer portal of Gate of Ploce was built in 1450, on plans by Simon della Cava. The inner portals are crowned with the head of St Blaise (in the photo), and are built in the Romanesque style.

 

Saint Blaise is the patron saint of the town of Dubrovnik and the protector of the historic Republic of Ragusa. He was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia, transitioning from a healer of physical ailments to a "physician of souls". Legend has it that when the Governor of Armenia began persecuting Christians, Blaise hid in a cave up in the mountains, where he established a miraculous rapport with wild animals until he was eventually found out and killed by his persecutors. Christians often turn to Saint Blaise for healing miracles.

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Uploaded on May 18, 2016