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I lived in Texas for nearly four years—-so I know the free-spirited, anything goes, libertarian attitude tends to breed some pretty oddball things. But I’ve never seen anything quite like Adriatica, a new Dallas suburban community, which was inspired by the Croatian island village of Supetar.

I know this wannabe  Eastern European enclave is some 20 hours from Washington D.C., but it’s too fascinatingly bizarre to not mention.

Here’s a little snippet from an Associated Press story on the community:

From a chapel sitting serenely on a sliver of land jutting out on a lake, to stone homes with red tile roofs clustered on winding lanes, developer Jeff Blackard is working to bring European village life to a Texas suburb.

“What we’re really doing is creating a real, functioning village,” Blackard said.Inspired by Supetar, a port city on the Croatian island of Brac, Blackard began work on the “Adriatica” development about 30 miles north of Dallas a few years ago.

So far, it contains about a dozen single-family homes and a row of businesses and shops, including a day spa, an Italian restaurant, a Realtor’s office, a wine bistro and a Starbucks.  By the end of next year, expect a replica of Supetar’s port lining the lake.

Eventually, plans for the 45-acre development call for 70 or so houses, about 280 condominium units, 100 retail establishments, 100 offices and an 80-room hotel. A replica of Venice’s St. Mark’s Square is planned to serve as a community meeting place.