It offers unspoilt nature and pine-scented sea air. Rising from the Kvarner Gulf, Croatia’s largest island – and also one of its wildest and most rugged – lies off most visitors’ radars.

Lošinj, “the island of vitality”, offers several upmarket hotels with spas; wild and rugged Cres is known for sheep farming; Rab has some of Croatia’s rare sandy beaches and a medieval capital.

Here are five facts about the former Yugoslav republic, independent since 1991: Croatia is blessed with a stunning coastline along the Adriatic Sea dotted with more than 1,000 islands and islets ...

In the summer of 2022, fieldwork began on the Brač Island Project in Croatia. In collaboration with the University of Split, CU Boulder’s own Sarah James led a team of graduate students and ...