Visit Diocletian’s Palace
Diocletian Palace, Split. Courtesy of Sobrecroacia on Flickr
When Roman Emperor Diocletian decided to retire, he could have chosen
anywhere in the Roman Empire. The building of his vast retirement
palace at Split was entirely an accident of geography – it was three
miles (five km) down the road from the major Roman outpost at Salona,
which in the third century AD was the capital of the province of
Dalmatia and in modern-day Croatia is near the town of Solin.
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, his massive marble palace has been engulfed by 21
st-century
Split – itself a charming, pulsating city, squashed between the
Adriatic Sea and coastal hills. Shops, bars and restaurants cling to the
palace walls like barnacles, with several thousand people living
clustered within them.
Construction of the
Diocletian Palace in
the late third century AD took 10 years and at over 334,000 sq feet
(30,100 sq m) it has slowly morphed over the centuries into a fortress
and town as well as imperial residence. The four gates in the 98-foot
(30-m) high walls lead today to a maze of frenetic streets but on
passing through the Golden Gate on the northern side of the ruins, it is
possible to spot the Temple of Jupiter – Diocletian believed he was a
reincarnation of Jupiter, the number-one god in the Roman pantheon.
Split’s present-day main piazza, Peristil Square,
was in fact the entrance hall to Diocletian’s humungous palace, and
plenty of columns, arches and fragments of sculpture remain in place
today.
Peristil Square
The square hosts live concerts and impromptu
a cappella performances as well as the Split Summer Festival in July and August – 2013 sees its 55
th anniversary and a joining together with the European Music Summer alongside Slovenia, Italy and the Czech Republic,
Gothic and Renaissance palaces and churches also happily co-exist
inside the Roman walls and the daily Pazar produce market takes place in
its cellars. The straight lane of Krešimirova still bisects the palace
complex from the western to the eastern gate and originally separated
the emperor’s private quarters from those of his soldiers and subjects.
St. Domnius
The mausoleum where Diocletian’s body was interred after his death is
now the Christian cathedral of St Dominus, the patron saint of Split,
who was a third-century bishop of Salona. Ironically Diocletian spent
much of his life in persecution of the Christians and his body was
removed in the eighth century – final destination unknown to this day.
Although the great wooden doors of the cathedral are carved with
biblical scenes, there are original Roman reliefs taken from the life of
Diocletian and his wife Priscia still to be seen around the dome. Climb
the campanile for views over Split and across the Adriatic.
Visit Salona
Despite the emperor’s best attempts to thwart the spread of
Christianity, Salona thrived due to its proximity to his great palace
and by the sixth century had become a center of Christian worship.
Although the city was utterly destroyed in the following centuries by
Slavic invasions, vast expanses of ruins can clearly be seen. The
centerpiece of the ruins is the gigantic second-century AD amphitheater;
this survived until the 17
th century when it was demolished
by the Venetians. When fully functioning, the theater held 18,000
spectators. Close by is the macabre mass burial ground of early
Christian martyrs killed (probably at the orders of Diocletian) in the
amphitheater.
Salona. Courtesy of usawnyu on Flickr
Other remains include a fourth-century basilica, the city gates and
stretches of the walls, the forum, public baths and several small
churches. The small Tusculum Museum just outside the entrance to the
excavations has a useful brochure outlining the layout of the ruins,
which have been beautifully conserved thanks only to the dry climate.
Several marble sarcophagi and other finds were removed from the site and
are now on display in the
Archaeological Museum in Split.
Founded in 1820, this museum contains around 150,000 artifacts from
the period of Greek colonization of the Adriatic prior to the arrival of
the Romans, the Roman and Early Christian periods and the early Middle
Ages, as well as a treasure trove of coins.
Split waterfront looking to Marjan. Courtesy of lostajy on Flickr
After exploring Diocletian’s Palace –
take a guided tour to make the most of what you are seeing – take a walk along the palm-lined Riva esplanade to grassy
Marjan peninsula for
sea views. A nature reserve since 1964, some of Split’s best beaches
are found here. Climb up the steps from Veli Varos to Telegrin belvedere
for panoramic views across the Adriatic Sea to Havr and Vis islands.
The nearby ancient Greco-Roman town of Trogir makes for a pleasant
couple of hours admiring the mish-mash of Romanesque, Renaissance and
Baroque architecture.
Explore Havr
Hvar. Courtesy of larsjohansen57 on Flickr
Central Dalmatia’s number-one destination for the beau monde, Havr is
accessed by ferry from the port at Split. This Adriatic island is
strewn with splashes of blue from the lavender fields and has an elegant
main town where super-yachts moor up and the restaurants fill up with
their super-rich occupants in the summer. Check out the cathedral and
Franciscan monastery, stop off for lunch in a welcoming courtyard in the
backstreets and then seek out the castle for views over the harbour. A
mini-St-Tropez, Hvar Town’s pretty piazza of St Stephen and the winding
cobbled streets see major action when the sun goes down and the partying
starts – expect a lot of posing, vertiginous heels and highly visible
designer labels.
For that all-over suntan and a dose of tranquility, take a day trip
from Havr to the micro-islands of Pakleni to seek out hidden beaches and
crystal-clear waves. Ferries leave from the 17
th-century Venetian Arsenal on the Hvar Town quayside.
