languages_spoken_or_written julije bajamonti
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the ___MASK54___ Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula and the Apennine Mountains from the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges . The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea , extending from the Strait of Otranto ( where it connects to the Ionian Sea ) to the northwest and the Po Valley . The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Greece , Italy , Montenegro and Slovenia . The Adriatic contains over 1 , 300 islands , mostly located along its eastern , ___MASK16___ , coast . It is divided into three basins , the northern being the shallowest and the southern being the deepest , with a maximum depth of . The Otranto Sill , an underwater ridge , is located at the border between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas . The prevailing currents flow counterclockwise from the Strait of Otranto , along the eastern coast and back to the strait along the western ( ___MASK54___ ) coast . Tidal movements in the Adriatic are slight , although larger amplitudes are known to occur occasionally . The Adriatic ' s salinity is lower than the Mediterranean ' s because the Adriatic collects a third of the fresh water flowing into the Mediterranean , acting as a dilution basin . The surface water temperatures generally range from in summer to in winter , significantly moderating the Adriatic Basin ' s climate . Croats are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group at the crossroads of Central Europe , Southeast Europe , and the Mediterranean Sea . Croats mainly live in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina , but are an officially recognized minority in Austria , ___MASK39___ Republic , Hungary , Italy , Montenegro , Romania , Serbia , and Slovakia . Responding to political , social and economic pressure , many Croats have migrated throughout Europe ( especially Germany , Austria , Switzerland , France and Italy ) and the Americas ( particularly the United States , Canada , Argentina , and Chile ), establishing a diaspora . Julije ( Julio ) Bajamonti ( ___MASK54___ : Giulio Bajamonti ; 4 August 1744 -- 12 November 1800 ) was a medical historian , writer , translator , encyclopedist , historian , philosopher , and musician from the city of Split in present - day Croatia . His wife was Ljuba Bajamonti , a Split commoner . Julije Bajamonti is known for composing the first opera in modern Croatia ( La traslazione di San Doimo , performed only once ) , writing about the history of Split ( unfinished and unpublished , and helping Alberto Fortis , a Venetian , with his journey around Dalmatia , which also included the discovery of the now famous South Slavic Muslim song , Hasanaginica . After the fall of Venice in 1797 he urged that Dalmatia should be annexed to the Habsburg Monarchy . In his speech in 1797 he stated that Austria was the successor of the old Venetian state . Like many other intellectuals along the Dalmatian coast , Bajamonti wrote most of his works in ___MASK54___ . Niccolò Tommaseo claims that there was no one in Italy who wrote better than Bajamonti during his time . He performed his medical work in the cities of Split , Hvar , and Kotor ( in the area of Boka Kotorska in today ' s Montenegro ) . Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a sovereign state between Central Europe , Southeast Europe , and the Mediterranean . Its capital city is Zagreb , which forms one of the country ' s primary subdivisions , along with its twenty counties . Croatia covers and has diverse , mostly continental and Mediterranean climates . Croatia ' s Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands . The country ' s population is 4 . 28 million , most of whom are Croats , with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism .