Although
Njivice might seem a rather recent settlement dotted with modern tourist
properties and several examples of older houses from the 19th and early 20th
century, its origins go back much further in time. On this favourable coastal
location, protected from the bura wind and with plenty of drinking water, there
was a rather large complex of agricultural and rural buildings as far back as
the Roman period. Inside this complex, an Early Christian church was built in Late
Antiquity and then furnished with items in the Early Middle Ages. This is
attested to by the early medieval pluteus of the altar screen, which can today
be seen in the church. The medieval church that was built upon the base of this
sacral building was mentioned several times in historical sources after 1474.
In that year, the last ruler of the island from the Frankapan family, John VII
the Younger (Ivan VII. Mlađi), donated the church to Nikola Lončarić and his
successors under the condition that they take care of it and that holy mass be
regularly held in the church. Today's church is a historicist building from the
beginning of the 20th century. However, in addition to the mentioned
pre-Romanesque pluteus, there are other artefacts that belonged to earlier
sacral buildings that were located on this site.