If you walk through the main city gate towards the north, ascending the stone stairs along the picturesque street of the old part of the city, you will reach the Benedictine nunnery. The Benedictines or as the people of Hvar call them koludrice are a very strict order because they do not go beyond the boundaries of the nunnery, unless it is a matter of extreme emergency. The nunnery was erected on the location of a gothic-renaissance house Lucić and within the building there is a collection of selected art works, paintings and icons from the 16th century and liturgical items. The Benedictine nuns from Hvar have gained world fame for their decorative embroidery, especially the agave lace. The extraction of fibres from agave leaves and its processing to produce fine threads for embroidering are demanding tasks that require exceptional knowledge and patience. For the knitting of the agave lace a special skill is required that the Benedictine nuns have been working on for hundreds of years. Each lace is one of its kind, therefore, it holds special value and is inscribed in the UNESCO Representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Humanity.
