Our Lady of the Angels Church is located on the isthmus called Verige, right across the city of Perast. The church belongs to the municipality of Tivat. Among the locals, this church bears the name Our Lady of Oriz, coming from Italian word “soriso” which means “a smile". The sailors, when returning from long journeys and sailing into "their waters," would laugh with joy. The first thing they would actually see was this small church on the rock. And this is how the church got its local name.
The exact year of construction is not known, but it is assumed to be 1585. There is a small defensive wall and a loophole next to the church, and it is assumed that the church served as a watchtower and a counter to the passage through isthmus Verige. Verige in local dialect means "chains" and this is where cruisers that sail to the port of Kotor pass. There is a small beach bar near the church, with a pebble beach. From this place it is very easy and fast to cross from one side of the coast to the other - the width of the "Chain" passage is only 250 meters.
Interesting facts
From this place, people would lift iron chains and stretch them out of the sea, when it was necessary to block the enemy ships from entering the interior of the Bay. Hence the current name for this isthmus is Chains.
Author of the text:
Marijana Niković licensed tourist guide for Montenegro.
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