In 1553, Pierre Belon described in his work Observations that pissasphalto, a mixture of pitch and bitumen, was used in the Republic of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia) for tarring of ships.
ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪvhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti θɹˈiː, pɪˈɛɹ bᵻlˈɑːn dᵻskɹˈaɪbd ɪn hɪz wˈɜːk ɑːbzɚvˈeɪʃənz ðæt pˌɪsɐsfˈæltoʊ, ɐ mˈɪkstʃɚɹ ʌv pˈɪtʃ ænd bɪtˈuːmɛn, wʌz jˈuːzd ɪnðə ɹᵻpˈʌblɪk ʌv ɹˈæɡjuːsə nˈaʊ duːbɹˈɑːvnɪk, kɹoʊˈeɪʃə fɔːɹ tˈɑːɹɹɪŋ ʌv ʃˈɪps.