Island of Vis
Vis (Croatian pronunciation: [v̞îːr]; Greek: Ἴσσα – Issa; Italian, Venetian: Lissa) is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 (as of 2001). Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast. The highest peak of Vis is called Hum, 587 m high.
There are two towns and municipalities on the island, Vis (1,960 inhabitants in the municipality) and Komiža (it. Comisa) (1,677), both located on the seacoast. There are smaller settlements on the island’s interior: Podselje, Marinje zemlje, Podšpilje, and Podstražje.
Vis was inhabited by the time of the Neolithic period. In the 4th century BC, the Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder, founded the colony Issa on the island. Later, it became an independent city-state, and even minted its own money and founded its own colonies elsewhere. In the first century BC, the island was held by the Liburnians. In the 4th century BC Syracusan Greeks colonised the Island Its importance in the region ended with the first Illyro-Roman war (29-219 BC). Having sided with Pompeus during the period of civil struggles in Rome, became an “oppidum civium Romanorum” in 47 BC.
