Gospa od Škrpjela

Immediately above the paintings is an imposing and unique collection of more than 2000 votive plates, comprising a silver frieze - one of the largest collections of this kind in the world. By the year 1624, when Perast was pillaged by North African pirates, the church already contained 600 plates, which were stolen during the raid. This archive of sailors is a unique and inseparable part of the history of these parts. They arc the work of local goldsmiths. The person giving the offering, in these parts most often a sailor, was convinced that, on a given dramatic day, exposed to the all-mighty forces of nature, a raging storm at sea, or the mighty pi rates, according to all human predictions, he was inarching into his own death. That is when he made a solemn oath. Should he, despite the perilous situation, return to port and survive, he pledged to leave a last¬ing mark on a valuable material, i.e. silver, bearing an inscription and the characteristic acronym V(OTUM) F(ECI) G(RATIAM) A(CCEPI) - I pledged an oath and received mercy, as a sign of his gratitude. The majority of these plates display various types of sailing ships from Perast (tartanas, xebeces, frigates, brigs, polaccas, caravels, naves, etc.).