was normally spoken among lower classes, Italian among the upper. Ragusans were in general bilingual, speaking Croatian in common day-to-day duties and Italian in official occasions or mixing both. Ragusan literature Ragusan literature, in which Latin, Italian, and Croatian coexisted, blossomed in the 15th and 16th centuries. According to Marcus Tanner: Literary works of famous Ragusans were written in both Croatian and Italian. Among them are the works of writers Džore Držić (Giorgio Darsa), Marin Držić (Marino Darsa), Ivan Bunić Vučić (Giovanni Serafino Bona), Ignjat Đurđević (Ignazio Giorgi), Ivan Gundulić (Giovanni Gondola), Šišmundo (Šiško) Menčetić (Sigismondo Menze), and Dinko Ranjina (Domenico Ragnina). The literature of Dubrovnik had a defining role in the development of modern Croatian, Dubrovnik Shtokavian dialect having been the basis for standardized Croatian. Writers from the 16th to the 19th century (before the Age of Romantic National Awakenings) that were explicit in declaring themselves as Croats and their language as Croatian included Vladislav Menčetić, Dominko (Dinko) Zlatarić, Bernardin Pavlović, Mavro Vetranović, Nikola Nalješković, Junije Palmotić, Jakov Mikalja, Joakim Stulli, Marko Bruerović, Peter Ignaz Sorgo, Antun Sorkočević (1749–1826), and Franatica Sorkočević (1706–71). There also were Ragusan authors of Morlachism, a primarily Italian and Venetian literary movement. Ethnic groups The inhabitants of the Republic of Ragusa were Catholics and spoke the local variant of the Shtokavian dialect, the same dialect upon which modern Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and Serbian are all based. Among the modern South Slavic nations, Ragusans are mostly attributed to Croats. However, discussions on the subject of Ragusan ethnicity are mainly based on revised concepts which developed after the fall of the Republic; in particular, the time of Romantic Nationalism resulting from the French Revolution. Before this, states in general were not based on the contemporary unifying concepts such as nation, language, or ethnicity; loyalty was chiefly to family, city, and (among Catholics such as the Ragusans) the Church. Vlachs, also named Morlachs, were active within Ragusa's city walls but the majority of them were shepherds, guards, or carters living in Dalmatia. Currency The Republic of Ragusa used various currencies over time and in a variety of systems, including the artiluc, perpera, dukat and libertine. See also List of notable Ragusans Walls of Dubrovnik Septinsular Republic Republic of Poljica Collegium Ragusinum References Sources Tomaz, Luigi, Il confine d'Italia in Istria e Dalmazia. Duemila anni di storia, Think ADV, Conselve 2007. Further reading D'Atri, Stefano. "Ragusa (Dubrovnik) In