'''Korčula''' ({{IPA|hr|kɔ̂ːrtʃula|lang|hr-Korčula.ogg}}, {{lang-langx|it|Curzola}}) is a [[Croatia]]n [[island]] in the [[Adriatic Sea]]. It has an area of {{cvt|279|km2|sqmi}}, is {{cvt|46.8|km|mi}} long and on average {{cvt|7.8|km|mi}} wide,<ref name="Duplancic-Cala-Ujevic">{{cite journal |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/9636 |title=Coastline lengths and areas of islands in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea determined from the topographic maps at the scale of 1:25 000 |journal=Geoadria |location=[[Zadar]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=5–32 |date=June 2004 |last1=Duplančić Leder |first1=Tea |last2=Ujević |first2=Tin |last3=Čala |first3=Mendi |doi=10.15291/geoadria.127 |access-date=1 December 2019 |doi-access=free |archive-date=21 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021090159/https://hrcak.srce.hr/9636 |url-status=live }}</ref> and lies just off the [[Dalmatia]]n coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after [[Krk]].<ref>{{Croatia Yearbook 2015|page=47}}</ref> The population are almost entirely ethnic [[Croats]] (95.74%).<ref>{{Croatian Census 2011|E|19}}</ref> The island is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Rothesay, Bute|Rothesay]] in Scotland. It is known for Grk, a white wine that is only produced here and not exported due to limited production.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maddie |date=2023-06-16 |title=Korčula: The Hidden Gem of the Dalmatian Coast • Passport Pilgrimage |url=https://passportpilgrimage.com/korcula/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Passport Pilgrimage |language=en-GB}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Geography==
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The second wave of human settlement was by [[Illyrians]],<ref>The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. 11: The High Empire, AD 70–192 by Peter Rathbone</ref> documented around 1,000 BC.<ref>John Wilkes, ''The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe)''; {{ISBN|0-631-19807-5}} (1996)</ref> They were semi-nomadic tribal people living from agriculture. There are numerous old stone buildings and fortresses (''[[Gradina (disambiguation)|gradine]]'') left behind by the Illyrians.<ref>[http://www.korcula.net/history/histsurvey.htm History of Korčula] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130203914/http://www.korcula.net/history/histsurvey.htm |date=30 November 2010 }}, Korčula.net; accessed 4 December 2015.</ref>
''Melaina Korkyra'' ({{lang-langx|el|Μέλαινα Κόρκυρα|lit=Black [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]]}}) was the ancient [[Cnidus|Cnidian]] [[Greek colonisation|Greek colony]] founded on Korčula.<ref>An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen, 2005, Index</ref> Greek colonists from [[Corfu]] formed a colony on the island in the 6th century B.C.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} The [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] named it "Black Korkyra" after their homeland and the dense pine-woods on the island. Greek artifacts, including carved marble tombstones can be found at the local Korčula town museum.
A stone inscription found in Lumbarda ([[Lumbarda Psephisma]]) and which is the oldest written stone monument in Croatia,<ref>[http://attalus.org/docs/sig1/s141.html Syll.³ 141] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813173833/http://attalus.org/docs/sig1/s141.html |date=13 August 2020 }} - English translation.</ref> records that Greek settlers from Issa ([[Vis (island)|Vis]]) founded another colony on the island in the 3rd century BC. The two communities lived peacefully until the [[Illyrian Wars]] (220 BC to 219 BC)<ref>Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 120, {{ISBN|0-631-19807-5}}, p. 160</ref> with the [[Roman Republic|Romans]].
