considered one of the nicest coves on the island. It faces westwards towards the sunset and has a long shallow sandy bottom. One of the symbols of Silba is the "Torretta Marinich", a hexagonal observation tower, 15 m high, with an external spiral staircase. It was built by the Podestà, Captain Pietro Marinich (1816-1897), in the garden of the family house built in 1872, then accompanied by the chapel consecrated in 1894. It is in the centre of the village right on Veli Put - Silba's High Street. The village has several cafés, four restaurants, a number of shops, post office and a local GP. From any point in the village it takes only around 10 min or less to walk to the nearest beach. History The old name for this island is Selbo. It's supposed to come from the Latin word "Silva", meaning "forest". The island Silba is mentioned in historical records in the 9th century. In 827, it belonged to the Zadar county. In 1073, in the last year of Petar Krešimir's reign, probably at the request of his sister Cika, the first nun of St. Maria in Zadar, the county donated the island to the monastery St. Maria, at the ceremony of sacrament of their church (some say this happened in 1027). Later, the island fell into the hands of the Venetian authorities, which sold it to captain Fani Soppe for 12,350 ducats. It is not known how it later came into the ownership of Venetian family Morosini. Silba was held by family Morosini until the first quarter of 19th century. As it was too far to govern and receive tax on yield in nature they agreed with inhabitants of Silba in 1770 to receive each year 2000 Venetian lira in rent. Silbans called this rent četvrtina (quarter), as it amounted to a quarter of the land's yields, which is what serfs elsewhere also gave to their masters. In 1838, for 28,500 Austrian lira, family Morosini sold the island to Marko Ragusin from Veli Lošinj, who returned wealthy from United States. As Silbans paid rent to previous owner in currency, they assumed they will do the same to the new landowner, but since he lived in Lošinj, near to Silba, he refused and demanded a quarter of land's yield in crop. A lawsuit ensued which lasted for 13 years when Ragusin finally decided to sell the island