Gospa od Škrpjela

From the church presbytery, one enters a small sacristy (build in 1725) containing the tomb of the priests who served in the shrine. The tomb is situated under a baroque plate. A small marble relief built into the wall, portraying a scene from the Annunciation, made in the workshop of the Venetian sculptor Francesco Cabianka (18^lh century), is especially valuable. A contemporary sculptor from Milan, Alessandro Di Ceglie, donated the stone head of the Dead Christ as a memento of his home town. The mosaic representing St. Leopold Bogdan Mandić was made by Marija Rosa. In 1908, Dominik Holl donated two Chinese vases. The glass cabinets hold the works of domestic goldsmiths, which form a part of a rich collection of votive gifts.

The small room that divides the collection of stone monuments from the sacristy is filled with votive painting of ships, portraits of Perast captains, and works made of glass, wood, and canvas. The walls display poetic accomplishments of numerous authors who found their artistic inspiration here. A chest dating from the 18^th century is especially beautiful.

The stone collection holds texts and stone tablets from the Neolithic, Illyrian, Roman, Greek, and Medieval times. The archaeological material displayed in the cabinet belongs to the Neolithic period. Father Gracija Brajković discovered traces of a Neolithic culture in the Spila cave in 1968. These are considered to be the oldest ever found in the bay area (dating to 3500 B.C.). The displayed ceramics and stone tools form a part of this rich collection. One of the more interesting parts is the Illyrian-Roman tombstone. Among the preserved texts is one written in Greek, dating from the third century B.C. There are also several texts and urns from the Roman times. The oldest Christian symbol from Perast, a cross etched into a late Antic dish. The early Roman wickerwork pattern remains (9^th century) are a part of the stone furniture from the church of the Holy Cross. The epitaph of Petar Vitin, the notary public of the Kotor notary office, from the first half of the 14^th century holds special importance. Other stone exhibits belong to the age of baroque, during which culture and life in Perast was blooming and experienced its highest point.

Through the stone collection door, one can see a little room housing collections of cultural artifacts of the area: porcelain, irons, watches, sewing machines, record players, sun umbrellas, etc. The collections of medieval keys and lock are especially interesting. The small side room contains the collection of modern art paintings made by contemporary artists who found inspiration in the two picturesque islands and in Boka.

Pieces of sailing rope, parts of weapons, and other artifacts hang from the ceiling above the staircase that leads to the second floor of the house. These are all material remains and witnesses to harsh accidents from which people were saved. They were brought to the shrine as a lasting memory to these events, to bear witness to the mi­raculous powers of Our Lady of the Rocks.

Our Lady of the Rocks was famous, not only in Boka, but all thought the coast, which is witnessed by the archival schematics of the ships that were named after her. From the 16^th century to this day, there have been some 150 such vessels.

The small niche in the corridor that leads in to the central hall contains remains of Greek and Roman amphorae that were fished out of the see in the vicinity of the islands. They bear witness to the lively sea-faring and trade life that was taking place here during the Antic times.

The opposite wall contains the small philatelist collection of stamps with marine motifs framing two series of stamps bearing motifs of the Islands. Two ship figureheads from the 15^th and the 18^th century are on the side.

The Gothic image of the Madonna made out of palm wood was a figurehead on a bow of a sailing ship. The Gothic-Lombardian chest (15^th century) is the oldest piece of furniture in Boka. The high chair with a back rest was used by teachers in the Perast elementary school opened by the Franciscans in 1636, which also served as a maritime school. The hand-wound propeller is a mechanical contraption of wrought iron with two gear belts. It served to propel the boat that was used by the monks from the Perast monastery. This artifact is very rare and it is one of the oldest types of boat hand-wound machines.

The large canvas painting The Slaughter of Innocent Children was painted by Tripo Kokolja. Judging by its stylistic expression, this is probably his earliest work. It might have, due to its elongated form, been made to decorate the fence around the choir benches in the church on the Island or the church of St. Nicholas in Perast. Special attention of numerous visitors is drawn to the smaller painting, which presents the top part of the main altar with the woven painting of Our Lady of the Rocks covered with a silver shackle. This was a votive painting made by Jacinta Kunić, who, according to tradition, patiently wove the painting for 25 years. It is considered one of the most beautiful needle-point works in our country. It is especially interesting that, in addition to silk, silver, and gold thread, the artist used natural hair to weave the hair of the characters in the painting. From the signature, we learn that the panting was finished in 1828. The sketch displayed on the side shows that Jacinta Kunić was not only a very patient weaver, but also a talented painter.

The carved stern is a part of an elaborate little boat that was Perast on special occasions.

The small collection of weapons and tools (guns, rifles, sabers, spears) reminds us that the shrine was sometimes in need of defending, even with the power of weapons.

During centuries, the sea has been the stage of numerous sea battles. The many sea battles are witnessed in numerous Venetian commendations and priceless paintings. Trade goods, the ship, and the very lives of the crew needed to be protected from African and Ulcinj pirates.