In the mid-16th century, the Venetian authorities built the church of St. Veneranda (Petka, Paraskeva) and the hospice for the needs of Greek sailors and soldiers in the service of the Venetian Republic. An altar for the Roman Catholic rite was also erected in the church. In the Russian-French conflicts of 1806, the hospice and the church were damaged. The French later built a fort around the church. Around 1830, the church bell tower was demolished up to the height of the second floor. In the remains of the bell tower, from 1858, the Hvar naturalist Grgur Bučić conducted meteorological measurements and established one of the oldest stations in Croatia. Since the mid-20th century, the fort area has been used as a summer stage.