GOSPA OD ZEČEVA, NIN
According to oral tradition, in the old village of Jasenovo, Vrško polje, lived a young widow Jelena Grubišić who in 1516 experienced visions within which she received instructions on veneration of Our Lady, followed by an apparition. Due to the danger of the repeated Ottoman raids, the statue of Our Lady of Zečevo was transferred to the chapel of St. Ambrose located in Nin, in 1587. Up until the second half of the 17th century it remains unknown whether the statue of Our Lady was transferred from Nin to Zečevo. However, during the Candian War in 1646 Nin was burned and the statue of Our Lady was transferred to Zadar in the church of St. Stošija. The statue was returned to Nin after the restoration, in 1674. Ever since, in May (the month of apparitions), a pilgrimage during which the statue of Our Lady is transferred to Zečevo, and then returned to Nin, takes place.
GOSPA OD SNIGA, KUKLJICA
According to oral tradition, it was snowing in Kukljica on August 1514. Due to the great storm, the local fishermen called on Our Lady for help and vowed to build a church for her in Ždrelac. The pilgrimage to Gospa od Sniga in Kukljica, on the island of Ugljan, traditionally takes place every year on August 5th, when the statue is transported by boat from the votive church in Ždrelac to the local church of St. Paul, where it is placed until the beginning of September, and then taken back again by the same route. On this occasion, the statue of Our Lady is transported in the main boat, while other, smaller boats are circling around it. This part of the pilgrimage also became a tourist attraction.
GOSPA O' TARCA, KORNAT
Today's Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, popularly known as Gospe Petrovčića, and today most often called Gospa o' Tarca was built near the field of Tarac, at the foot of the Byzantine fort Tureta. This small Romanesque church was built at the place of a much larger early Christian church that was functional up until the Middle Ages, and its cult is still taking place today. It is maintained by pilgrims coming there by boat, pilgrims that are mostly inhabitants of Murter and at the same time owners of the Kornati estates. The date of the celebration of the cult was May 31st - the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and then it was set on May 2nd, hence the name Gospe Petrovčića (as it was four days after St. Peter's Day). Today the pilgrimage is taking place on the first Sunday in July so that as many believers and tourists as possible could attend this celebration. Until recently, Gospe o' Tarca was the shrine of the Kornati farmers and shepherds. Along with the traditional boat pilgrimage and celebration of the holy mass, fields, pastures and sea blessing is also performed.
KRALJICA RIBARA, PIŠKERA, ISLAND OF JADRA
Kraljica ribara pilgrimage is taking place on the last Saturday in July, when pilgrims from Sali and other nearby settlements sail to the Piškera bay on the island of Jadra in the Kornati archipelago. In the Piškera bay, a church of Our Little Lady, or as the locals call it Kraljica ribara, is located. The church was built in 1560, when Piškera was a lively fishing village - the only such settlement on the Adriatic. The service took place regularly until 1939, when the last large celebration was held. The contemporary pilgrimage to Piškera began in 1993.
GOSPA OD ŠKRPJELA, PERAST
Although the pilgrimage to Gospa od Škrpjela can be an individual act of believers who visit the školj (islet), as the local population calls it, for personal reasons, within this project the term pilgrimage to Gospa od Škrpjela refers to organized and structured festivities that mark certain important days for the shrine, believers, and residents of Perast and Boka Kotorska in general. Three dates or events are significant for this shrine: 1) the miraculous appearance of the image of the Mother of God on the cliff in front of Perast on July 22, 1452, 2) the commemoration of the victory of Perast over the Turks on May 15, 1654 that, according to oral tradition, happened by the help of Gospa od Škrpjela, 3) feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God, 15 August. As we are talking about a shrine located on an islet, a visit to the shrine, that is, a pilgrimage to Gospa od Škrpjela, regardless of whether it refers to an individual act or a collectively organized pilgrimage on one of the previously mentioned dates, is only possible by boat. This fact alone already introduces us to the sphere of the maritime way of practicing religion. During the three mentioned important dates and events, pilgrimage practices are organized to either visit the shrine or bring the miraculous image of Gospa od Škrpjela to Perast. In July, the "harvested" stones are transported in decorated and tied boats and are sunken around the islet as a memorial to the process of building the island. This practice is called Fašinada. In August, školj is decorated and a holy mass is held there, while in May the miraculous image is transferred to Perast to the parish church of St. Nicholas.
