Pag is the largest town on Pag Island and is within easy reach of Zadar. In the 15th century, the increasingly prosperous salt business prompted the construction of Pag town when nearby Stari Grad town came under increasing attacks by the rival salt producers of Zadar and Rab. Pag was under Venetian rule at the time. It was the Venetians who hired star-builder Juraj Dalmatinac (see his work in Sibenik's St James cathedral) to design a new city. The first cornerstone was laid in 1443. In accordance with what were then the latest ideas in town planning, the main streets and the cross streets intersect at right angles and lead to four city gates. The sober central square, Trg Petar Kresimira, includes St Mary's Church and the Ducal (Rector's) palace. The bishop's palace remained unfinished because Pag never succeeded in having its own bishop. In 1499, Dalmatinac began working on the city walls but only Skrivanat tower of the nine original towers remains. The medieval flavor remains as gray-haired ladies line the narrow, stone streets working the delicate Pag lace that is the island's trademark. There are a fair number of houses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries including St Mary's church which harmonizes Romanesque, Gothic and early Renaissance styles. It's a quiet town. For a wilder scene, head directly to Novalja, Pag island's famous party town. Here, the slight hum of commercial activity centers around the large salt works which have been a staple of Pag's economy for ages.