began on the expansion of the Chapel of the Blessed John of Trogir in Trogir Cathedral. The three principal sculptors were Nikola Firentinac, Andrija Aleši and Ivan Duknović. The chapel has a barrel vault with God and angels’ faces, below which is a row of circular windows and three tiers of carved figures surrounding the shrine. The quality of the sculptures of Christ, Mary and the apostles in their individual niches, with reliefs of playful putti above and below make the chapel a memorable example of Renaissance art. Among the finest statues are Duknović's John the Evangelist, and Firentinac’s St Paul. The Gothic sarcophagus and Baroque angels are a later addition. Inside the protective walls of the Republic of Dubrovnik, and on several of the nearby islands, many Ragusan nobles built their country retreats, elegant villas set in renaissance gardens. These were not as ornate as their Italian counterparts, but made good use of the terrain with its seaside location and plentiful supply of stone. A fine example is Sorkočević's villa on the island of Lapad near Dubrovnik. Built in 1521, with an unusual asymmetrical design, the house and garden are preserved in their original form. One of the most beautiful Renaissance sculptures in Croatia is perhaps the relief of the Flagellation of Christ by Juraj Dalmatinac on the altar of St Anastasius in Split cathedral. In contrast to the static carving on the altar opposite, three almost naked figures are caught in dynamic movement. During the 15th and 16th centuries, art flourished in Dubrovnik’s religious institutions, public buildings and its many patrician residences. Although a great deal of the work was commissioned from well-known artists from Italy, much of it was done by locally-born artists. The preferred style of church paintings in Dubrovnik, even into the renaissance period, was still framed in the form of a triptych, or polyptych. But within that structure, new ideas and designs were introduced, such as portraits depicting real characters, linear perspective, and even some still lifes. The artists of the Dubrovnik Painting School, such as Nikola Božidarević, Lovro Dobričević and his son Vicko Lovrin, Mihajlo Hamzić, Blaž Jurijev Trogiranin and Ivan Ugrinović, began a tradition of art in the city that continues to the present. Sadly, much of Dubrovnik’s beautiful Romanesque and Renaissance artwork was destroyed in the earthquake of 1667 and the resulting fires, and most of it we know only from