Sponza Palace

The rectangular building with an inner courtyard was built in a mixed Gothic and Renaissance style between 1516 and 1522 by Paskoje Miličević Mihov.

The palace has served a variety of public functions, including as a customs office and bonded warehouse, mint, armoury, treasury, bank and school.

It became the cultural center of the Republic of Ragusa with the establishment of the Academia dei Concordi, a literary academy, in the 16th century.

A Latin inscription on an arch testifies to this public function: The palace is now home to the Dubrovnik State Archive,[1] which holds documents dating back to the 12th century, the earliest from 1022.

The Luža square in front of the palace is used for the opening ceremony of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.