Island of Šćedro has two deep and well protected bays. The ruins of the Dominican monastery could be seen- founded, together with a hospice for sailors, in 1465, and abandoned in the 18th century can be seen in the bay of Mostir. The Latin name of Šćedro was Tauris from which derived the Italian Tauricola - Torcola. According to the Statute of 1331, the island was communal property and reserved for general pasturing.
The land was very fertile because of the dew and because it was overgrown with woods for centuries. The pine woods to the east are very attractive. There is still visible an old quarry at Stare Stine, while gypsum was picked up on the island to adorn the Baroque chapels of the cathedral. Šćedro is an islet 2,700 m off the coast, has a total area of 900 hectares and two well sheltered harbours which played an important role in Adriatic shipping history due to their protective qualities (štedri in old Slavonic means charitable; hence the name Šćedro). The islet offers pleasant walks, good swimming and beautiful views, especially on its western side (lovely view of Hvar's high mountain ridge especially at sunset). Šćedro's highest point is 110 m above sea level. The climate is milder than in Hvar and, due to night dew, grain crops used to be grown here in old times (see a plough from Šćedro in the Ethnographical Museum in Stari Grad).
The islet's historical monuments include well preserved Illyrian tumuli of imposing dimensions (known as Kodunje gomile because of the large number of a kind of snail called kadunjaci found on them) and the remains of a Dominican monastery and church of St. Mary of Charity (from the island's name) from 1465.