Summary
Podhume is a rural hamlet east of Milna. Stone houses, cellars, wells and ovens preserve the layout of former agricultural life, while the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes connects it with pilgrimage from Milna.
The hamlet lives on in family memory and pilgrimage, even though the spatial plan describes it as having no permanent residents.
A hamlet in the island interior
Podhume lies in the eastern part of the Milna area. The municipal plan from 2023 lists it as a settlement without permanent residents and provides for preserving its traditional scale and construction. This is the status documented by the plan, not a claim that the houses are never used today.
The house as a working farm
Courtyards, wells, ovens, wine cellars and gardens form a connected complex. People’s homes were directly tied to cultivating the land and keeping animals. This layout differs from a coastal harbour: household needs and water storage can be understood at the scale of each group of houses.
Sources: [2]
Our Lady of Lourdes and Milna
The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes was built in 1925 and solemnly consecrated in 1962. The pilgrimage from Milna on her feast day has maintained the hamlet’s connection with the coastal settlement. The church is also a gathering place for people whose everyday lives have moved elsewhere.
Sources: [2]
Leaving and returning to the houses
A feature by Ivica Radić from June 2026 records the departure of the last permanent household in 1965 and the more recent renovation of family houses for hospitality use. This shows a change in how the rural complex is used, alongside the continued family connection with the place. Old houses and gardens remain private spaces, even when they look abandoned.
Sources: [3]
