Marulić completed Judith, his most renowned work in the Croatian language, at the age of fifty on April 22, 1501—“from the birth of Jesus Christ in the flesh, the year one thousand and five hundred and one, on the twenty-second day of the month of April, in the city of Split.” With the masterful gesture of a skilled creator, Marulić reworked a well-known biblical story, awakening hope and dispelling the fears of the people in the face of Ottoman incursions. Beyond being written in Croatian, the work’s progressive nature is reflected in his bold decision to conceive and present it as a full allegory.

The medieval Chakavian Croatian language finds its full expression in the setting of the Church of St. Jerome on Marjan, while an additional hermitic dimension is provided by the nearby cave known as the Oratory of St. Cyriacus.

In a bold interaction with the audience, Katarina Romac powerfully evokes the emotion of fear, from which begins a gradual mastery over one’s thoughts and a listening to the divine will that cannot be escaped. Although the twelve-syllable verses may seem difficult to grasp, in her delivery they become both strong and clear—rightly demanding, as they reflect the gravity of the situation they portray. The monotony of the double rhyme, placed in the middle and at the end of each distich, seems to mirror the long and unchanging duration of hardship: life moves slowly, suffering repeats itself, hope appears to fade, yet existence endures thanks to the immense strength of the people and the innate human desire to survive. (Vesna Aralica for Kazaliste.hr)