Original subtitles

(MAN SHOUTING IN ITALIAN)

FRANCESCO: I've been at sea aboard the Black Swan for a week.

And I'm still learning the ropes.

It takes some getting used to.

It's still a long way to Istanbul,

where our voyage retracing Venice's ancient trade routes will end.

I'm going to have to keep my wits about me.

We've been sailing south from Venice along Croatia's coastline,

nearly 2,000 kilometres long.

But right in the middle is a little bit that isn't Croatia.

Bosnia-Herzegovina.

This area, which used to be Yugoslavia,

has seen more conflict and violence in recent times

than anywhere else in Europe.

It looks peaceful enough today

and yet the scars of war

have left their mark on this beautiful land.

Croats, Bosnians and Serbs

turned against one another in a land-grab

that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Everybody was a target.

In Mostar, one of the world's greatest treasures

sat at the heart of the conflict.

Since the 16th century, the Mostar bridge

had linked the Christian and Muslim sides of the city.

The bridge had been an historic symbol of unity.

Now it was destroyed.

At the end of the war, in 1995,

work began to restore Mostar to its former glory.

And today the bridge is a triumph of reconstruction.

Original building techniques were used as much as possible,

with many of the original stones retrieved from the river below.

And now, once again, as they have done for centuries,

the young men of Mostar jump from the bridge

to prove their manhood.

-Are you going to jump? -Yeah, we go.

-From here? -Ready for jump.

-From here? -From here. Very high.

Mamma mia, it's tempting.

-It is too much. -See you under the bridge.

Hope so.

Brothers Vedra and Damia

have been jumping here since they were boys.

The water below is so cold they have to acclimatise first.

The height of the bridge is a dizzying 65 feet.

(ALL CHEERING)

You were great.

-Great, really? -Yeah, yeah.

Really great, both of you.

-Thank you. -You started when you were young?

Very young, with 13 years.

-Wow. -Very, very.

What do you feel in the moment that you jump?

Just fly. I don't think about nothing.

-Your mind is free. -Free.

The Mostar bridge is more than bricks and mortar.

It is about hearts and minds reunited.

Today the bridge may be a reconstruction,

but its original spirit is intact.

I'm on my way to the village of Medugorje,

once the sort of place nobody bothered to visit,

until reports spread of a miraculous sighting.

Now Medugorje is one of the great pilgrimage sites in the world.

All because, back in 1981,

six local teenagers

claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary.

Every year since, she appears to them,

drawing an ever larger crowd of believers.

They said that there is an apparition today.

And one of the visionaries is going to see the Madonna.

It's quite crowded but I will try to get there.

The crowd has gathered around the building

where Mirjana Dragicevic, one of the six original teenagers,

is said to be receiving a message from the Virgin Mary.

(WAILING AND YELLING IN THE DISTANCE)

Word spreads that Mirjana is about to emerge.

The Virgin's message is read out through loudspeakers.

(WOMAN SPEAKING IN SERBO-CROATIAN)

I can't be sure what actually happened here today,

but everyone seems very moved.

Back on the Black Swan,

I'm heading for the chic island of Hvar.

Today Hvar is a favourite holiday destination for Italians.

The Portofino of Croatia.

We Venetians occupied Hvar

as early as the 12th century.

So, there is more than a touch of Venetian style about the place.

You can see our emblem, the Venetian lion, all over town.

This is the cathedral built by the Venetians, in a Venetian style.

Up there, dominating the town, the Venetian citadel.

And here, a lovely palace belonging to a Venetian family.

/ust around the corner,

a grand painting in the Venetian style of the Last Supper.

So, you see, many of the greatest Venetian treasures

were not in Venice at all.

But the locals didn't like being ruled by Venice.

And in the 16th century, they rose against us.

Their revolt was brutally suppressed.

But tension continued to simmer.

Then in 1612,

the governor had a crazy idea how to improve things.

The governor wanted to bring the peasantry

and the Venetian aristocracy together.

He believed that if they could get to know one another,

they would not be fighting. So he built a theatre.

And the plan worked. There were no more uprisings in Hvar.

Today the theatre is closed for restoration.

But its future, at last, is safe.

Its unique atmosphere is treasured

by all the actors who have performed here.

Coming inside this theatre, so intimate,

you as an actor, what do you feel?

(SPEAKING SERBO-CROATIAN)

Do you think a theatre can put the people together?

Today, Hvar is Croatia's number one party town.

So me and the crew are going to hit the bars.

Francesco!

Francesco!

It's just a short hop from Hvar to the beautiful island of Korcula.

I like Korcula.

But when the locals start trying to steal our history,

I feel I have Venetian honour to defend.

The most famous Venetians are Casanova, the ladies' man,

and Marco Polo, the great explorer, who discovered China.

Now, Korcula is saying Marco Polo came from here.

I say, ''Hands off!'' Casanova, they can have.

But Marco is ours.

According to historical records, a Polo family did live here.

But whether it was Marco Polo's family is another thing.

Korculans claim this ancient house

is where Marco himself was born.

It's a little fantastic if you ask me. But one thing is true,

Marco Polo was captured in a sea battle just there.

And it was while in prison,

he wrote his famous book, The Travels of Marco Polo.

Marco was one of many to get caught up in battles here.

There have been so many battles,

the locals commemorated their history in an extraordinary way.

(SPEAKING SERBO-CROATIAN)

This is the Mariska.

Part fight, part dance.

It's been performed in Korcula for 500 years.

It describes the struggle

between a good king and an evil king

for the hand of a beautiful princess.

As the dance goes on, it becomes more and more violent.

The swords clash so hard, sparks fly.

(ALL CHEERING)

You got the princess?

-Yeah. -Yeah, very good.

But it is something that is part of your culture?

Of course, it's something our parents did and our grandparents.

So we are proud to do as they do, as they did.

Oh, so your father did it, also your grandfather?

Grandfather, yes. My mother was the princess.

-So you're proud to be the king now? -Yeah.

It was marvellous, it's incredible how you do it.

-Can I try? -Of course.

But you help me doing it.

Take it and scrape like this so that the sparks will come.

Okay.

-Like this. -Yes.

-Wow. -You got one.

And now, a real blow.

-Strong? -Strong.

-You must be very strong to do it. -Try doing it for 20 minutes.

You're proud of them, I think.

-It's my guys. -Okay.

Tell me one thing, do you prefer the red one or the black one?

The red one.

Back at sea, we are speeding towards our last Croatian stopover.

It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

There are plenty of islands along the way.

So Captain Giulio shows me how to plot a safe route.

This is Dubrovnik.

In the Middle Ages it was such a powerful city-state,

not even Venice could control it.

Still today, Dubrovnik is an impressive sight.

This is a view that everyone should try and see at least once.

The medieval city of Dubrovnik.

It takes you back in time. A reminder that in many places,

the so-called Dark Ages weren't so dark after all.

The citizens of Dubrovnik created a magnificent city

to match their reputation

as one of the great trading capitals of the Mediterranean.

Like Mostar, Dubrovnik was caught up in the Yugoslav war.

In 1991,

Serbian and Montenegrin forces attacked the city.

Someone who lived through this time, with her two small children,

was Katarina Kusijanovic.

-Nice to meet you. Francesco. -Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Katarina.

-Hi, nice to meet you. -May I ask you,

how was your life during the war?

It was difficult but

I was 26 and I had two little kids.

And my daughter was five and son was one year old.

Plane were above our houses and

you never know when it's going to start.

We all thought that the city will not be damaged

because it is protected by UNESCO and nobody will bomb the old town.

So we were hiding in the old town.

Then on the 6th of December, the town was badly, badly damaged.

We were all asking for each other, ''How are you? What's going on?''

Can we help each other? We were, you know, like one human being

and that's something that I will never forget.

I have one last thing to do in Dubrovnik.

This is the ancient Franciscan monastery.

A haven of spiritual calm in the heart of the city,

with an interesting sideline.

They make beauty products.

(GREETING IN SERBO-CROATIAN)

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

From Dubrovnik our journey continues south.

We are leaving Croatia.

Ahead of us, the most dangerous waters of the Mediterranean.