Approximately 68 kilometres (42.25 mi) long,[1] with a high east–west ridge of Mesozoic limestone and dolomite, the island of Hvar is unusual in the area for having a large fertile coastal plain, and fresh water springs.

Its hillsides are covered in pine forests, with vineyards, olive groves, fruit orchards and lavender fields in the agricultural areas.

It has been inhabited since prehistoric times, originally by a Neolithic people whose distinctive pottery gave rise to the term Hvar culture, and later by the Illyrians.

The ancient Greeks founded the colony of Pharos in 384 BC on the site of today's Stari Grad, making it one of the oldest towns in Europe.

They were also responsible for setting out the agricultural field divisions of the Stari Grad Plain, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In medieval times, the town of Hvar rose to importance within the Venetian Empire as a major naval base.

Prosperity brought culture and the arts, with one of the first public theatres in Europe, nobles' palaces and many fine communal buildings.

The 16th century was an unsettled time, with the Hvar Rebellion, coastal raids by pirates and the Ottoman army from the mainland, resulting in some unusual fortified buildings on the northern shore to protect the local population.

At the same time, the island's wine exports increased, along with lavender and rosemary production for the French perfume industry.

However, this prosperity did not continue into the 20th century as wooden sailing boats went out of fashion, and the phylloxera blight hit wine production.

The formation of The Hygienic Association of Hvar in 1868 for the assistance of visitors to the island has been instrumental in developing an infrastructure of hotels, apartments, restaurants, marinas, museums, galleries and cafés.

[9] Hvar has a typical karst landscape, which means limited or no surface water, despite adequate rainfall, which disappears quickly into crevices in the ground.

The water cisterns in the fields, and the dry-stone walls, especially terracing on the slopes are necessary for the continued success of agriculture on the island.

A large number of new villa rustica in Stari Grad Plain and also on the previously vacant eastern shores were built.

In the 12th century, the rise of the Republic of Venice brought vines and wine cultivation which blossomed into a major industry for the island in the Middle Ages.

Hvar is important to the history of Croatia as it was one of the centres of Croatian literature during the Renaissance, with writers such as Petar Hektorović and Hanibal Lucić.

Churches on the island contain many important paintings and artworks by famous Venetian artists, including Tintoretto, Veronese, Bellini and others.

Vineyards on the southern side of the island are famous for red wines produced from the Plavac Mali grape.

[citation needed] It was more likely an Illyrian word "Fara" that in modern Albanian, translates to seed!since it is unlikely that the lighthouse preceded the name for the island.

[citation needed] From the 7th century onwards, the Byzantine Theme of Dalmatia, including Fara, was settled by the Pannonian Avars and Croats.