The
name of the cove (which is reminiscent of the Croatian verb voziti – to drive)
bears witness to the fact that in the past ships were pulled across the narrow
strip of land at the beginning of the Voščica (Bejavec) peninsula. The bollards
at the mooring place have an unusual anthropomorphic shape and date back to the
19th century, as does the house next to the church. They very much resemble the
so-called 'Adamić Witnesses', that is, the caricatural anthropomorphic guard
stones that were located in front of the Andrija Ljudevit Adamić Palace at
Fiumara in Rijeka. Local legend has it that this famous entrepreneur had them
carved to make fun of people who had borne false witness against him in a court
case.
On the
gentle northeast slopes of the cove, there are the foundations of an ancient
building, probably a villa which was later fortified in Late Antiquity. It is
also assumed that there were Early Christian and medieval phases, since this
used to be a Benedictine estate. Medieval sources also make mention of a Church
of St. Maurus (Sveti Mavro). In short, this multi-layered location needs to be
archaeologically examined and properly presented.
In 49
BC, these waters witnessed a naval battle full of twists and turns between the
forces of Caesar and Pompey in an episode in the Roman Civil Wars. Today, we
know a lot about this battle thanks to the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus
and his epic poem Pharsalia, which gives an account of Caesar's civil war.
Pompey's men, under the command of Marcus Octavius, supported by local Histrian
and Liburnian allies (among which were probably also the Fertinates, the
ancestors of today's inhabitants of Omišalj) known for their swift and
easily-manoeuvrable boats, used their maritime skills, war stratagems, mimicry
and underwater traps for ships to defeat Caesar's forces despite the arrival of
reinforcements. A part of Caesar's infantry under the command of Gaius Antonius
were stuck on the island of Krk, while those under the command of Sallustius
Crispus and Minucius Basilus tried to help them by moving from the Vinodol
mainland to the island. Caesar's reinforcements, inept at sailing on the open
sea, but skilful in crossing rivers and channels, tried to move to the island
on three large improvised rafts. Two of them were helped by the high tide, but
the third one, with the Opitergina cohort from the area of what is today Veneto
in the northeast of Italy, fell into a skilfully prepared trap. According to
Lucanus, the warriors preferred to kill each other rather than fall into the
hands of the enemy and be forced to fight against Caesar. Their impressed
enemies prepared a heroic funeral ceremony for them, and the tragic story
became not only a strong source of propaganda for the Julian line and followers
of Gaius Julius Caesar, but a general account of bravery and loyalty in the
period of Classical Antiquity.