CNN’s favourite naturist beach gets a public toilet finally, which is really a work of art inspired by Marcel Duchamp.
I have had some strange invitations since I started this website, uncovering some truly amazing secrets of Hvar, but never an invitation quite like this…
“Paul, when are you next in town? I want to show you something truly special. I will collect you in my boat and take you to Jerolim, to show you something that I think is unique in the world – an artistic public toilet on a nudist island.”
Nothing surprises me any more in life, and when the invitation came from such a sweet and cool lady as Mare Fio, owner of the bar on the coolest bay on the Pakleni Islands – Kordovon – I knew I would be inspecting the artistic toilet very soon.
It is surprising how many people do not know about Kordovon, including local people. Very surprising, since CNN named Jerolim as its number one FKK destination in 2011, then after such a public endorsement from the American media giant, Huffington Post then quite bizarrely nemed Kordovon one of Europe’s top 7 SECRET nudist beaches in Europe (using an article from Total Hvar as their source). It was also used by Vogue Australia for a fashion shoot.
But it has never had a public toilet.
It still doesn’t, but it has something which closely resembles it, a piece of art resembling a public toilet, which is open to all.
There is a toilet on the island, at the Amo Beach resort, but this is for guests of the resort only, and Amo is only open for a few months a year, leaving visitors to the island without a solution.
The creative genius of Hvar resident Stjepan Barišić (or Zlatko, or Aurelie – it is impossible to keep track of all the names on this island…) saw an opportunity to use inspiration from one of his artistic heroes, Marcel Duchamp, to create not a public toilet, but a stylish piece of art which resembles a public toilet.
As with the rest of the cool art in the trees of Mare’s great bar at Kordovon, much of the materials for his masterpiece came from nature, much of it driftwood washed up on the island.
The result? A splendid addition to a very fine island. I think the word ‘rustic’ would be an apt description, but now there is an opportunity to use the artistic facilities of the island for free, twelve months a year.
If you have not yet been to Mare’s place on Kordovon, it really is a gem – check it out here. To reach it, tae a taxi boat to Jerolim, then walk 100 metres through the trees. One of the great chilling experiences of Dalmatia awaits.
