Secret Montenegro 

When I saw Ivana Maksimovic’s porcelain collection at her London home, I knew she was a good traveler. D.Porthault and Ginori prints in light blue and pistachio green, toile plates and tea sets gathered from various countries—all of it used for daily service, even for one. Ivana splits her time between Montenegro, London, and the Cotswolds, and each home holds its own collection. It’s the eye of someone who knows how to look at a place—which is precisely what she brings to her new book, Secret Montenegro (Vendome Press), an insider’s look at one of the Adriatic’s lesser explored destinations. From hidden interiors and dramatic coastlines to local fishing villages in between, it is a visual tour that enlivens the senses and entices any curious traveler into a world of violet seas.

Through Ivana’s lens, Montenegro—a country of just over 600,000 people, shaped by the Venetian Republic and the socialist era—is filled with scenes resembling the more popular Italian coast. Think rattan-strewn lunches, tomatoes from the fisherman’s garden, cabana stripes, wooden boats, and villas along the sea. “If you wind your way through the hills on the narrow road that snakes around the Luštica Peninsula, you come to a lagoon-like bay with a shipwrecked boat stranded poetically in front of it,” she writes. “A tiny car-free hamlet at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor, it is one of the oldest settlements on the whole of the Adriatic coast.” An architect by training, creative director by experience, and citizen of the world by nature, Ivana spent three decades between New York, London, and Milan before turning her camera, and her discerning eye, toward the coast where she spent her summers as a child. We spoke with her about the book, the places she loves most, and what it means to translate a place of home for the world.

Can you tell us how the book came about, and what you hope to communicate about Montenegro?

The book is the product of love and longing for the country I left thirty years ago. I consider myself still a person from Yugoslavia, even though I was born in what is now Serbia—I spent summers in Montenegro and feel nostalgic for the country that used to be. The fact that I left the area and lived in New York, London, and Milan only deepens that feeling. There is always a special feeling toward your home, your country, and especially a country that doesn’t have many people speaking about it.

Doing a book is time consuming and not easy. But I felt it was my duty as someone who is visually eloquent—someone who understands that there are countless books about Tuscany and other beautiful corners of the world, and nobody to translate my part of it. From that point of view, I think the book is genuinely special because there is no other product like it.

You’re an architect by training. How did that background shape the project?

After my studies I went to Parsons in New York, then worked in London and Belgrade at the agency Ogilvy & Mather, as an art director and creative director. I’ve spent my career dealing with images and photography—most of the images in the book are my own. Being a citizen of the world, but also coming from there, allowed me to serve as a translator for people who have never been. I could show them what I see.

I was taking pictures of my surroundings for the last twenty years. I’m very focused on rituals, and curious how people spend their days. I was sharing these stories on social media, and many people in Montenegro suggested that it helped them to appreciate the surroundings that they might have overlooked.

How did you decide what made it into the book?

We decided to structure it as a journey along the coast, as if you have your car and are driving. We paced it geographically as a road trip, village after village. Cruising the coast felt like the right format.

The interiors you photographed are extraordinary. How did you gain access?

Montenegrins are still very shy. They don’t show their homes. It’s not normal in our culture the way it might be in the South of France. My approach was simply knocking on doors. There was no schedule, no photographer arriving with equipment. It was literally ad hoc, unplanned. I’d go into people’s houses, and find them having breakfast in a dining room that hadn’t been updated since the socialist era. I loved that.

There is one Venetian palazzo in Kotor that a friend gave us permission to photograph. Everything else was stolen from private moments. I was inside monasteries that required finding the villager who knew the monk, who then agreed to open the doors. They’re not used to it. The whole project became almost an excuse to enter places I had passed many times without ever knowing what was inside.

The places in the book feel more authentic than popular.

Montenegro isn’t a place to come for a long holiday. It’s a small area, better suited for a long weekend. What I tried to do is find things with unusual magic. The fact that it used to be a socialist country is unusual, and it’s a benefit of the trip. The Western way has been there for fifteen or twenty years, but it’s not Italy. Italians have been hosting the world forever. Hospitality is new in Montenegro, and it’s interesting to see that evolution.

Progressing Montenegro is about preserving what is there––the UNESCO-protected heritage, the existing life––not building new things or giving in to the greed of capitalism. I did not include the big hotels, which are great, but they aren’t different from any nondescript place. I tried to capture the way of life that is authentic, and the way it has always been.

How do you describe Montenegro to someone who has never been?

I decided to write the book partly because I kept receiving the same request: we’re coming to Montenegro, where should we go? People want the insider’s input. When I travel, I want to see how people decorate, what they eat, how they experience it. Montenegro has a beautiful backdrop—an hour from the coastline there are canyons that feel like something from Indiana Jones. I sign myself up, willingly, to be the hostess of Montenegro.

You write about Ribarsko Selo, the fishing village, in a meaningful way—lobsters from the sea, tomatoes from the garden, carob cake. What does this place represent to you?

The tomato there is like a piece of steak. It is the saint fruit, the saint vegetable. It tastes like nowhere else. The food is very, very good. No matter if you are at a fancy or a simple place, it’s a good meal. But you need to know where you’re going. You need to research.

This book makes that a little easier.

IVANA’S “FRIENDS + FAMILY” MONTENEGRO RECOMMENDATIONS

Where to Stay

Aman Sveti Stefan – Set on its own islet, a highlight of the Montenegrin coast.

One&Only Portonovi – Beautifully located at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor.

Regent Porto Montenegro – For a marina-side stay in Tivat with easy access to the bay.

Private Rental – Look for a small converted palazzo along the Bay of Kotor, with a dock. If you want to experience something authentic, you stay at one of those. It feels like a big family home rather than a hotel.

Where to Eat

Stari Mlini – A local favorite.

Ribarsko Selo – Fishing village with lobster from the sea, tomatoes from the garden, carob cake for dessert.

Adriatica – A good stop near the beach.

Ćatovica Mlini – A former mill in a lovely setting.

Where to Swim

One&Only Portonovi Beach – A well appointed stretch at the entrance to the bay.

Mamula to Luštica Bay – Take a boat and discover the small, quiet beaches tucked between the two–each one feels like a find.

Sveti Marko Island – Drop anchor and spend an afternoon in the water.

Where to Hike

Vrmac Mountain to Muo – Follow the old Austrian road down from the top for sweeping views over Kotor’s Old Town, picking wild herbs along the way.

Kotor’s Old Walls – A medieval climb with many steps and a stunning panorama of the whole bay at the top. Stop for cold watermelon at the small home-turned-restaurant that awaits you there.

Museums & Churches

Perast Town Museum – The place to understand the seafaring culture of the bay—its famous captains, its naval history, and the generations of sailors who shaped the coast.

Gospa od Škrpjela – A Renaissance church on its own small island just off Perast. A short boat ride takes you there.

Kotor Maritime Museum – For a deeper look at the seafaring history that shaped the bay.

Where to Shop

Ivana Ma, Luštica Bay – (Ivana’s own boutique) Beautiful, feminine summer dresses in a monobrand setting.

Antique Shop, Prcanj – An Aladdin’s cave of porcelain and unexpected finds. +382 69 053617 

Porto Montenegro – The contemporary commercial destination for anything you might need should your suitcase go missing.