An old mulberry tree stands in front of the house, possibly since the times of Mila & Petar, the original couple, the first inhabitants (and builders!) of this house.
For deep shade, the people of Brač usually had at least one mulberry tree in the yard, but also because it was medicinal. This one was left here to represent the undying love and passion which are forever built into this house.
An ancient love story of tragic misunderstandings and a tragic ending described by the Roman poet Ovid. It is the tree of lovers where Pyramus and Thisbe met in forbidden love. According to the myth, Pyramus was a young man from Babylon, and Thisbe was a young woman who lived in a neighboring house. They fell deeply in love but were forbidden by their parents to marry. They communicated through a crack in the wall between their houses and arranged to meet at a nearby mulberry tree.
When Thisbe arrived at the tree, she saw a lioness with blood on her mouth, and she fled in fear, dropping her veil behind her. The lioness had killed an animal and had simply come to drink from a nearby stream. Pyramus arrived shortly afterward and saw Thisbe’s veil and assumed that she had been killed by the lioness. In despair, he took his own life with his sword.
When Thisbe returned and saw Pyramus’s dead body, she also took her own life with his sword. Witnessing the tragedy, the white mulberry fruits sprinkled with the lover’s blood turn red with a dark ruby color and remain so to this day, giving the juice of a love elixir of great panacea and aphrodisiac power. Therefore, in mythological memory, the mulberry has become the tree of loving devotion that lasts until the last breath of life. We hope you enjoy some of its power!
The tragic story of Pyramus and Thisbe has been retold in various forms throughout history, including by William Shakespeare in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and by Arthur Brooke in “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet”, which was one of the main sources of inspiration for Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.
Now, it’s time for you to write your own story, under the old mulberry tree. Hopefully, one with a happy ending!