Burned buildings
During the devastation of the Old City the most serious damage was inflicted on nine buildings which received direct hits by 120-mm mortar shells on 6th December 1991. The buildings that were burned to the ground were the following: the Palace Od Sigurate 1 (the Festival Palace), the Palace Od Sigurate 2 (Classi), the Palace Od Puča 11, the Palace Od Puča 16, the Palace Đorđić-Maineri, the Martinušić Palace, the Palace Sorkočević, the House Zlatarićeva 9, the House Čubranovićeva 8, the House Između Polača 5 (Karaka) and the House Od Rupa 7. Only the outer walls remained and so did a few staircases and load-bearing walls at street level whereas original interiors and furniture were entirely destroyed.
Due to its importance in the life of the City, the Festival Palace was the first one to be restored, whereas the destruction of the Palace Od Puča No 16, where the family home and studio of the painter Ivo Grbić used to be, is the most blatant example of the "burning of life".
The Festival Palace
In the fire caused by multiple incendiary mortar shell hits on 6th December 1991, the two-story Baroque palace located at No 1 Od Sigurate Street burned to the ground. The Palace used to be the headquarters of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the most important cultural manifestation in the former Yugoslavia and one of the most well-known cultural festivals in Europe and the world.
A small part of the inventory was saved from the burning building, whereas the majority of the antique furniture, pieces of art and technical tools was completely destroyed. The fire also destroyed a significant part of the rich Dubrovnik Summer Festival Archives, a collection which had been amassed during the 43 years of its existence, as well as the majority of the photograph collection which contained approximately 30,000 photographs.
Due to its public function, the Festival Palace was the first one to be restored. The restoration was funded by the Republic of Croatia and it was also backed by donations from UNESCO and the renowned pianist Ivo Pogorelić with The International Trust for Croatian Monuments from Great Britain and the Rotary Club – Klagenfurt from Austria. The restoration took place from 1994 until 1998.
Ivo Grbić's home and studio
It was not merely shattered, but rather burned to the ground. A shattered house can still have some hidden objects and valuables, whereas here, except for objects made of iron, which could not burn, and some broken ceramics, nothing else remained.
Ivo Grbić in the interview for Glas koncila, 29th August 1993
On Dubrovnik's "Black Friday," 6th December 1991, just after 7 AM, the first shell hit the Palace standing on the corner of Široka and Od Puča Street, the family home and studio of the formally trained painter Ivo Grbić. The palace received six more direct hits and another eight received by buildings in its immediate vicinity. The Palace burned to the ground. Mr. Ivo, his sister and his mother, carrying two blankets each and a bag containing basic necessities, escaped to their neighbors' house. As there was no running water, they tried to use rainwater to extinguish the fire caused by a phosphorous bomb, but those attempts failed. Mr. Ivo returned to his burning home and managed to take two folders – one with school certificates and his Art Academy certificate, and the other one with a small amount of money.
All the artist's possessions burned down together with his family home – a large number of drawings made in his youth, most of the artwork he created during his studies, 175 paintings made in various techniques, 70 painted ceramic plates and vases, 45 terra cotta relief plates, all the catalogs and posters from his exhibitions, more than 2,000 reference and specialist books, a rich ethnographic collection, 21 guest books, more than 3,000 photographs, transparencies and other documents, plaques and medals.
On 15th April 1993, as part of the 59th International PEN Congress, Ivo Grbić opened an exhibition on the burned-out remains of his family home. This "Exhibition in the Burned-Down Home" showcased 86 of his works, including a dozen paintings which his friends managed to salvage from his home.
The restoration of the Palace took place from 1996 until 1998.