The town of Bol, on the Island of Brac, is home to one of the most peculiar buildings on the Adriatic Coast. At first glance, the aptly named House in a House, aka ‘Paloc’, is not the most eye-catching edifice in Bol, even though it’s located very close to the town center. It looks like an old, unfinished building, but it’s only when you step inside that you realize it’s actually a Russian-doll-like structure that houses another house.
Seen from above, it looks as if the smaller house is “trapped” inside the walls of a larger, unfinished palace, and according to the local legend, that is more or less the situation. No one knows exactly how the House in a House came to be anymore, but if the most popular story is to be believed, it started as a ‘nail house‘ whose stubborn owner refused to sell.
Photo: BolCroatia.com
Legend has it that, at the end of the 19th century, the respectable and wealthy maritime family Vuković decided to build a grandiose residence in Bol. They started buying land in town, offering above-market prices for each plot, so locals were more than happy to part with their properties; all except Marko, who went by the nickname ‘Sila’.
Despite the best efforts of the Vuković family to convince Marko to sell his house, he stuck to his decision, so the wealthy family decided to force him out. They started building their palace right around Sila’s house, only a few meters away from it, in fact, hoping that the claustrophobic feeling would get him to sell eventually.
Tragedy struck when the three Vuković brothers perished at sea while traveling to buy the materials needed to complete the building. The project was abandoned, but Marko Sila allegedly continued living inside his house within a house for the rest of his life.
It’s impossible to know just how accurate the legend of the House in a House is, but one thing is for sure – the architectural oddity is now one of the main attractions of Brac Island, and a symbol of the resilience of ‘the little guy’.
