Dionysius the Elder, the contemporary tyrant of Syracuse, founded the colony Issa to control shipping in the Adriatic Sea.

Vis was the site of the general headquarters of Marshal Josip Broz Tito, the leader of the Yugoslav Partisan resistance movement during World War II.

[7] In the 2011 census, the Vis municipality was composed of the following settlements:[8] Until the middle of the twentieth century, the main sources of income were vineyards and wine production.

According to archive documentation, the church was still unfinished in 1521, and the builders had increased its dimensions during construction, evidenced in various styles over time: Gothic, Renaissance and baroque.

Its oldest part, in the central area, was built in the first half of the 16th century and shows the transition from Gothic to Renaissance style.

With this, the unity of the space was achieved, illuminated by the long, narrow windows of the Gothic exterior, of which some were transferred from the old walls which dated back to the 16th century.

Seven small windows together with a niche inside which was the statue of the martyr St. Cyprian constructors, adom the upper part of the façade which ends with borders that have been executed with laid and threaded vaults.

The church ceiling is wooden and relief coffered with decorations in the form of rhombuses with stylized flowers whilst in its centre a canvas has been inserted representing the Creator.

It is decorated in the same way as the church façade with horizontal belts, quatrefoil openings, relief roses, angel heads, elliptic windows and final vases.

The church has been modified over time, so today the appearance of its façade on which the door have been enlarged and two smaller windows have been added, shows more stylistic characteristics of the 16th century than its original ones.

The church façade was made of marble taken from the adjacent ruins of ancient Issa, primarily from the Roman theatre over which the Franciscan monastery was built.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Frane Gariboldi moved from Milan to Hvar, becoming an inhabitant, and building a house and shop in a very crowded part of the town and a graveyard in the Franciscan church.

He owned land on Vis and so built a palace there soon after on which above the portal of the outer, high façade wall he placed an inscription where he emphasized that he was a citizen of Hvar and outline his Milanese origins.

LAVS DEO FRANCISCVS GARIBOLDVS MEDIOLANENSIS NVNC CIVIS LESINAE PRO SE IPSO AC FILIIS ET HEREDIBVS SIV HOC OPVS CONSTRVXIT MDLII.

Above the door a relief coat of arms stands out in which there is a fortress and four stars whilst on both sides there are the initials of Fran's name F.G.

The summer residence with courtyard, completed prior to the last decade of the 16th century, is surrounded by a high wall and on the Renaissance portal the following verses by Gazarović have been inscribed in Croatian.

At the centre of the façade was Gazarović's coat of arms surrounded by mermaids whilst at the top there was a dragon with outstreched wings, which was carved by the writer himself.

The Renaissance and baroque one-story house of the Prdvarić family was built in the later 16th century and is situated at the part of Vis known as Kut, close to the sea.

There are square sentry boxes standing on consoles at the corners of the tower whilst acroterions adorn their roof part.

The fortress surrounded by a 2 m deep trench whilst defence walls are inclined and made of finely worked stone.

The main building is to be found in the southern part with a single storey and floor were command of the island and a barracks for the accommodation of officers and soldiers were situated.

Fort George was built by the British when Austrian Imperial authority in region was ceded to the French as a part of a humiliating peace settlement dictated by Napoleon.

Fearing Napoleon would turn the Adriatic into a French lake, with free rein to launch warships from the Venetian Arsenal and expand his empire further into Europe, the Royal Navy was sent to the Adriatic with a regiment of foot and detachment of artillery to prevent Napoleon's ambitions coming to fruition.

In 1811 the French successfully raided the bay of Vis inflicting damage to the town and destroying numerous merchant vessels.

Initial defences were built on Host Island in the middle of the harbour, consisting of two 18 pound guns in a stone fortification.

In 1812 Fort George was begun after the British Governor, Colonel Robertson, decided that the harbour needed greater protection.

Like the defences on Host Island, these Martello towers would carry large cannon able of deterring enemy ships from approaching the bay.

The defences were completed by late 1813 and two years later were handed to the Austrians, who had begun reclaiming control of their Adriatic territories following decline and eventual fall of Napoleonic forces in the region.

The eyes are large and lined with a light leaf (lead), which creates a powerful colourist contrast in relation to the greenish patina of the bronze.