Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast: the man-made island and its chapel
How do you get to Our Lady of the Rocks from Perast?
A small water taxi runs from Perast harbour to the islet. Wave from the jetty and a wooden boat will collect you within minutes. The crossing takes approximately 5 minutes. The standard fare is 1 EUR per person each way (confirm current pricing locally). The islet can also be included in organised Bay of Kotor boat tours departing from Kotor or Tivat.
The islet that generations of fishermen built stone by stone
In the middle of the Bay of Kotor, between the village of Perast and the forested island of St George, a small flat islet rises barely a metre above the surface of the water. It is perfectly circular. It is man-made. And it carries on its modest footprint a chapel, a small museum, and a visual and devotional tradition that stretches back six centuries.
Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela in Montenegrin — literally “Our Lady of the Reef”) is the only artificial island in the Adriatic. According to tradition, two fishermen brothers from Perast named Martinović found an icon of the Madonna on a reef in the bay on 22 July 1452. They returned to the spot repeatedly and were compelled, they said, by both a vow and a vision, to build around the reef, stone by stone, until a solid foundation existed for a chapel.
The practice continued. For centuries after, sailors passing through the bay on their way in or out of Kotor threw rocks onto the growing mound — a form of votive offering, ensuring safe passage by adding to the sacred foundation. Ships that had returned safely from difficult voyages added stones as thanksgiving. Every 22 July, the anniversary of the icon’s discovery, the same ritual is performed publicly in the Fašinada festival — one of the oldest continuously practised maritime ceremonies in the Adriatic.
The result is an artificial landmass of perhaps 3,000 square metres, built on a natural reef, expanded by six centuries of stone-throwing, and now solid enough to support a fully constructed chapel, a bell tower, and a small museum.
The legend in detail: what tradition says
The discovery narrative is specific and vivid. The Martinović brothers were fishing on the reef on 22 July 1452 when they found an icon of the Madonna lying on the exposed rock at low tide. This particular reef was known locally as Škrpjela (the reef). The icon — they believed — was not placed there by human hands.
They brought it to Perast, and the community began the process of building a chapel on and around the reef. Each stone thrown became an act of faith, a mark of belonging to the bay’s maritime community, and a physical contribution to something sacred. The practice spread: merchants, fishermen, sea captains outward bound for distant ports — all added stones. Returned safely, they added more.
The chapel was first built in the 16th century; it was rebuilt and expanded in 1630, and again substantially after the 1667 earthquake that damaged much of the bay’s coastal architecture. The current structure dates largely from the 17th and 18th centuries, with later restorations.
Inside the chapel: what you will see
The chapel of Our Lady of the Rocks is the devotional and artistic centrepiece of the islet. The interior is small — perhaps 12 metres long and 6 wide — but every surface carries meaning.
The icon of the Madonna
The original icon found in 1452 is displayed above the high altar in a richly framed silver reliquary. Scholarly opinion places the icon’s probable origin in the 15th century, consistent with the discovery tradition. The image type — the Madonna holding the Christ child — follows the Byzantine devotional convention called the Hodegetria (She who shows the way). The icon’s expressivity, with the Madonna’s slightly inclined head and the child’s direct outward gaze, has a quality that has supported devotion for six centuries without losing its immediacy.
The 68 silver votive plates
Surrounding the altar and covering much of the lower wall area, 68 silver votive plates (ex-votos) document specific moments of miraculous intervention that the donors attributed to Our Lady of the Rocks. Each plate is engraved or embossed with an image of the event in question — a ship in a storm, a sailor overboard, a disease surviving, a battle — and typically carries the donor’s name, date, and a brief inscription.
The plates date from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and constitute one of the finest collections of devotional metalwork in the Adriatic. They are also an unintentional archive: each plate records a crisis faced by a specific person in a specific year, and the aggregate of 68 plates tells a compressed history of Perast’s maritime dangers — storms, piracy, war, disease — and the community’s response to them.
Look particularly for the plates that show full-rigged sailing ships in distress, with waves rendered in stylised metalwork around the hull: these date from the height of Perast’s maritime power in the 17th–18th centuries and carry the names of the patrician families who commanded those ships.
Tripo Kokolja’s paintings
The ceiling and upper walls of the chapel are painted by Tripo Kokolja (1661–1713), a Perast-born painter who trained in Venice and returned to the Bay of Kotor as the leading artist of his generation. The Kokolja paintings at Our Lady of the Rocks are his most complete surviving cycle and represent the peak of his mature work.
The programme covers scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary and the New Testament, arranged across the barrel vault in a composition that reflects Venetian church decoration of the period. Kokolja’s handling of colour — the warm reds and deep blues characteristic of his Venetian formation, set against gold backgrounds that flicker in candlelight — transforms the small chapel interior into a space that seems larger than it physically is.
The Annunciation scene on the chancel arch is perhaps his finest individual composition here: the angel Gabriel’s arrival is painted with a dramatic foreshortening of the wings that shows the influence of his training without becoming imitative. Kokolja is the best Montenegrin painter of his era; these paintings are the strongest argument for his importance.
The small museum
One room adjacent to the chapel contains a small permanent exhibition including: the embroidery of Katarina Zmajevič, a Perast woman who spent 25 years embroidering a large tapestry depicting the Virgin, using strands of her own hair as thread as her eyesight failed during the work. The tapestry is one of the most extraordinary devotional objects in the chapel complex — visually understated but historically moving. Also displayed: navigational instruments, documents relating to the chapel’s history, and additional votive objects.
Tripo Kokolja: the painter in context
Tripo Kokolja (Tripun Kokolja, 1661–1713) deserves more recognition than art history has generally given him. Born in Perast to a family of sailors and merchants, he was sent to Venice as a young man — the standard educational route for talented sons of the Adriatic patriciate — and studied in the tradition that was reshaping European painting: the Baroque, with its dramatic compositions, strong chiaroscuro, and confident handling of physical space.
He returned to the Bay of Kotor and became the dominant painter of the region, executing commissions at Our Lady of the Rocks (the most complete surviving cycle), at Kotor Cathedral, and at several other churches along the coast. His work represents a point of contact between the Venetian artistic tradition and the Orthodox and Catholic religious culture of the eastern Adriatic — a genuinely hybrid artistic identity that mirrors the political and cultural hybridity of the Bay of Kotor itself.
The paintings at Our Lady of the Rocks were executed between 1694 and 1709 and represent his mature style: confident in composition, warm in colour, with a handling of the central Madonna figure that borrows the physical solidity of Venetian baroque while maintaining some of the frontal gravity of Byzantine icon tradition.
Kokolja died in Perast in 1713 at 52. His grave is in the Church of St Nicholas on the Perast waterfront — a three-minute walk from the water taxi jetty. If you visit Perast before or after the islet, the church contains a memorial inscription.
The Fašinada festival: 22 July every year
The annual Fašinada ceremony on 22 July is the most important cultural event in Perast and one of the most distinctive festival traditions in Montenegro. The ritual is simple: boats from Perast and surrounding villages, decorated with flags and carrying passengers, gather in the bay and circle Our Lady of the Rocks, throwing stones into the water around the islet’s perimeter to add to its foundations.
The ceremony takes place in the evening and is preceded by a Mass in the chapel, a procession from Perast, and a public gathering on the waterfront. Visitors are very welcome to attend and to watch from the Perast promenade or — if lucky — from a hired boat following the procession.
The word Fašinada likely derives from the Venetian word for fascine (bundles of sticks used in civil engineering foundations) — a reminder of the original practical language of building that underlies the devotional practice.
Getting there: boat tours and the water taxi
The 1 EUR water taxi
The simplest and most direct way to reach Our Lady of the Rocks is the water taxi from Perast harbour. Throughout daylight hours in season (May–October), wooden motorboats wait at the Perast jetty. Wave from the promenade and a boat will come within minutes. The crossing is approximately 5 minutes and costs around 1 EUR per person each way (small cash payment to the boatman; prices may vary slightly).
The boat lands at the islet’s small concrete jetty. You are free to visit the chapel and museum independently; there is typically a monk or guardian present. The visit takes 30–45 minutes on average.
Kotor: Perast Old Town & Lady of the Rock Boat TourBay of Kotor boat tours
Several operators run Bay of Kotor tours that include Our Lady of the Rocks as a stop, typically combined with views of St George’s island, Perast village, and the wider bay.
Perast: 3h Lady of the Rocks & Blue Cave Private Tour Perast & Kotor Bay: Boat to Lady of the RocksPhotography: what works and what doesn’t
From the water taxi (outward journey): The best photograph of the islet is taken from the approaching water taxi — the chapel visible above the low rim of the man-made island, with the Perast waterfront and the Vrmac mountain behind. Shoot from the bow.
From the Perast promenade: The classic composition places the islet in the middle distance with St George’s island behind it and the mountains beyond. Morning light (before 10:00) gives the best colours.
Inside the chapel: Photography is generally permitted inside the chapel (confirm with the guardian on arrival), but flash is inappropriate near the Kokolja paintings. Phone cameras in night mode produce better results than flash in the dim interior.
The silver votive plates in detail: These reward close photography — the engraved ships and scenes are miniature artworks in their own right.
Practical information
Opening hours: Chapel open daily approximately 09:00–18:00 in season (May–October). Outside season, the islet may be inaccessible or the chapel locked — call ahead.
Admission: Small entry fee to the chapel and museum (approximately 1–2 EUR; subject to change).
Best combined visit: Our Lady of the Rocks + Perast walking guide = a complete half-day. Add Kotor Old Town for a full day in the Bay of Kotor.
Frequently asked questions
Is Our Lady of the Rocks a functioning church?
Yes. The chapel is an active Catholic place of worship, with Mass celebrated regularly and particularly on the feast of the Virgin (15 August) and on Fašinada (22 July). Visitors are welcome at all times that the chapel is open but should be particularly respectful during services.
Can I visit St George’s island as well?
St George’s island — the natural islet with a Benedictine abbey visible nearby — is not open to general public visits. It is privately owned by the monastery community. Boat tours pass close to it and you can see the exterior; landing is not permitted for tourists.
What language are the chapel inscriptions in?
The votive plate inscriptions are predominantly in Latin, Italian, and Croatian, reflecting the linguistic environment of the Venetian Adriatic. Occasional inscriptions in Venetian dialect are also present. The displayed exhibition materials have English translations.
Is the islet safe for children?
Yes. The islet surface is flat and the chapel is easily accessible. There are no significant hazards. Young children should be supervised near the water’s edge (the islet perimeter is low, with an unguarded drop to the bay). The boat crossing, at 5 minutes, is very calm in the sheltered bay.
What is the depth of the water around the islet?
The Bay of Kotor is generally 30–50 metres deep around the islet area, though the immediate surroundings of the artificial foundation are shallower. The water is exceptionally clear and you can often see the bottom in the shallower sections near the islet edge.
Is the Fašinada ceremony a tourist event?
It is primarily a genuine community ceremony with deep roots in Perast’s identity — not a staged performance for tourists. Locals take the ritual seriously and participate with obvious emotional investment. Visitors are welcomed as witnesses to the ceremony, not as its audience.
How does Our Lady of the Rocks fit into the Bay of Kotor cultural circuit?
The Bay of Kotor offers one of the densest concentrations of cultural heritage on the eastern Adriatic. Our Lady of the Rocks is the devotional islet; Perast village is the baroque maritime village with 16 patrician palaces and the bell tower climb; Kotor Old Town is the UNESCO-listed medieval city with the Cathedral of St Tryphon (1166) and the Maritime Museum. Further inland, Cetinje is the royal capital with relics, palaces, and the Icon of Philermos; the Njegoš Mausoleum crowns Mount Lovćen above them all. For religious heritage specifically, the circuit continues to Ostrog Monastery and Morača Monastery in the interior.