Background
First settled by Illyrians, the island was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Ladesta. Archaeological digs have unearthed fragments of ceramic vessels, proving early trade links between the Illyrians and Greeks from the island of Vis, and the remains of Roman villae rusticae from the first century. The first important reference to the island dates from the year 1000, when the Doge of Venice, Pietro Oreolo II, ordered the burning of the wooden houses of Lastovo, following a series of raids on Venetian merchant ships. It seems the islanders lived primarily from piracy, and with several concealed harbours ideal for hiding ships they had a perfect base However, over the next two centuries, they gave up villainous activity on the high seas and turned to the more peaceful activity of farming – the land on Lastovo is exceptionally fertile and the polje (fields) in the flat valley bottoms lend themselves to the cultivation of vines and olives, as well as a variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables.
In 1252 the island chose to unite with Dubrovnik, though it kept its own administration for a couple of centuries longer. The town statute, written in 1310, included a number of unusual laws: people from Hvar were banned from the island and ‘foreigners’ were allowed to stay for a maximum of eight days. In 1486 the Republic of Dubrovnik pressurized Lastovo into giving up its autonomy, and immediately imposed heavy taxes, compulsory military service and even built a prison. By 1602 the situation had become so bad that the islanders staged a revolt and sent an envoy to Venice, asking for assistance against the republic. Venice subsequently occupied the island in 1603, but handed it back to Dubrovnik in 1606. Lastovo’s history then followed the course of the rest of the republic up until the end of the First World War, when it was awarded to Italy (along with Istria, Zadar and the islands of Cres and Lošinj). Under the Italian name of Lagosta, the economy improved and the population increased, peaking at 1940 in 1936. Many of the older islanders still speak good Italian, as it was the official language until Lastovo was reunited with the rest of Yugoslavia in 1947.
