October 13, 2019 – A special evening for Dagmar Meneghello in Zagreb, as she receives a lifetime achievement award for her dedication to art and culture at Zagreb Tourfilm Festival.
Croatia’s islands are dotted with incredible characters, whose personalities have helped shape the personality of the communities where they have chosen to reside.
Nowhere is this more true than on the largest of the Pakleni islands in front of Hvar Town, Sveti Klement. Here, in a bay better known as Palmizana, rather than its actual name of Vinogradisce, lives a remarkable woman from Zagreb who has dedicated more than 50 years of her life to turning Palmizana into one of the top destinations on the Adriatic, as well as a haven for art and culture in an era where party tourism was deemed more important elsewhere.
I first met Dagmar Meneghello a few years ago soon after I started the Total Hvar project. I knew little about the Pakleni Islands except that Carpe Diem Beach was where the best party was, Jerolim was a naturist island, and most of the best restaurants were to be found at Palmizana. I had no idea that Palmizana went way beyond the beach and good food, but once I had negotiated the peacocks and tortoises roaming around, and having explored the arboretum and art gallery, I came to appreciate that I found somewhere rather special indeed.
As had many others. Hvar is known as a celebrity island, but it is really the number of celebrities who visit that nobody ever hears about which is the bigger story. The Meneghello haven on Palmizana is known as a great celebrity escape as in addition to the excellent food and hospitality, the cameras of the paparazzi never make it past the front door.
On the occasion of her 50th anniversary living on Palmizana, I went to visit Dagmar Meneghello and asked her to reminisce on the early days and the golden eras. It was a fascinating interview, enrichened by photographs provided by Dagmar – you can read it here.
Her achievements are all the remarkable when one considers that she was a sophisticated Zagreb lady who came to Hvar and ended up falling in love and living with a local man, Toto Meneghello. But Toto was not a man with a fancy address on the pjaca in Hvar Town, rather on a deserted Pakleni island with no water, electricity or inhabitants. His family had been engaged in tourism since 1906 when Eugen Meneghello opened up his stone house for tourism there, but this was Robinson tourism at its most Robinsonesque.
Never mind the thought of art and culture, just providing guests with enough food and drink was the main challenge. But surely, slowly, Dagmar added an element of culture to proceedings to satisfy her starved artistic soul. And slowly, Palmizana became known not just as a place of extraordinary tranquillity and beauty, but one of art, culture and outstanding exhibitions and concerts from world-class performers.
A lifetime of dedication, rightfully recognised at the Zagreb Tourfilm Festival with its lifetime achievement award for Dagmar Meneghello. Congratulations, richly deserved!.
Learn more about the paradise created by the Meneghello family here.
