An Idea of the Isle of Love, Galesnjak, Croatia
An idea of naming and branding the Galesnjak as “Isle of Love” was for the first time put forward on Internet portal “CROWN” on December 31, 2008. and on Croatian television (Jan. 1st, 2009) by one of leading Croatian intellectual, university professor and author dr. Slaven Letica (+385-91-4612-451, slaven1947@gmail.com ).

He was inspired by the Google Earth discovery of the isle as one of the world heart shaped natural phenomena.

On Croatian television he explained gist of his idea this way:

“The past year has been one of bad news and sad stories throughout the world: a global economic crisis, war, personal greed, human suffering….

Through the idea of the Isle of Love, we would like to show that in today's Croatia and in this portion of Europe, there exist many happy and beautiful stories and adventures to explore.
By linking the Croatian Isle of Love with similar, heart-shaped islands in Fiji, Argentina, and Australia, discovered as such by the Google Earth, and thereby creating a World Archipelago of Love, we wish to send a message that mirror President Obama’s message to the world: peace, love, understanding, and hope.”
The idea was immediately and enthusiastically supported by several individuals: Mr. Ante Soric, well-known public figure in the field of cultural management, Mr. Vlado Juresko, one of many owners of the tiny island, and by Mr. Jurica Rudic, president on an NGO “TRS”, which mission is promotion of healthy life on the Croatian islands.
By making desk research we have discovered fascinated fact that Napoleon’s cartographers in the year 1907 make a perfect picture of the Galesnjak resembling the Google Earth bird view of the isle made 200 years later – see:

Napoleon’s Atlas 1807. Google Earth 2007.

Croatia: Small Country with 1244 Islands
Croatia is a small country measured by statistic data. It makes about one percent of all EU statistics: territory 1.25%, population 0.95%, GDP 0.4% etc. An exception of the rule of one percent are the Croatian islands and see shores. With 1244 islands, isles and cliffs, and with 5.835 km of see shores, Croatia makes 7 percent and 13 percent of the EU statistics.
The Isle of Love therefore could be used as one of key symbols of Croatian tourist marketing and PR.
Valentine's Day in Croatia

Tradition of celebrating Saint Valentine’s Day is brave new in Croatia. Although some young, pro-western oriented people celebrated it as a holyday and some of Catholic intellectuals knew that the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days and that the Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni, the holyday was not very popular till 1990s.
Only after fall of Communism, disintegration of Yugoslavia, and after re-birth of Croatian State, Saint Valentine’s Day became an important holyday.
It came to Croatia as a general trend of Americanization of Croatian popular culture, together with Hollywood movies, McDonalds, movie-theatres, shopping molls, Wikipedia, Face book etc. And even the Halloween!
Although the ordinary Croats and Croatians have accepted and imitated an American approaches to the holyday, there have been intellectual effort and research done by some anthropologists and ethnologists aimed at discovery of Croatian “usable past” that could be add as a cultural extra value to Valentine’s Day.

One tradition that is re-inventing as a part of Valentine’s Day cultural content is art and craft of the Licitar’s making.

well, some people talk and some work
http://secretdalmatia.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/…

nice post