Diocletian's Palace - Split

A collotype illustration by Robert Adam (1764) of the Peristyle known today as Peristile Square - In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain a garden.

Roman Emperor Diocletian built his palace in Split at the end of the 3rd century AD ready for his retirement in 305 AD. It was so enormous that it now forms the ancient centre of modern day Split.
Diocletian was the 51st Emperor of the Roman Empire. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, he rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus whom he acceded on his death.

After the palace was abandoned by the Romans it remained empty for several centuries until during the 7th century nearby residents fled to the walled palace to escape invading barbarians. Since then the palace has been constantly occupied - within the walls wealthy families built themselves small renaissance palaces and others created homes wherever there was a space. Businesses and shops exist within the palace cellars, nestling in and around the original Roman arches. It is an extraordinary place to visit - the level of preservation along with the buildings of succeeding historical periods, stretching from Roman times onwards, is unique. 

The palace was built from very high quality marbleised limestone found on the island of Brač which I mentioned in a previous post.

The outside upper south wall showing the remains of the Imperial suite.

The palace is typically Roman in shape, being rectangular, each of the four surrounding walls having an entry gate in the middle. We entered the Palace cellars via the Brass Gate in the southern wall. People were selling handmade jewellery and art works - at the far end steps access Peristile Square. The Brass entrance gate originally led out to the Adriatic Sea and entry would have been by boat. 

Coming up to Peristil Square from the cellars, immediately behind you is the entrance to Diocletian's private quarters.

To the right of Peristile Square is the entrance to Diocletian's Mausoleum - now the Cathedral of St. Duje (also known as St. Domnius) which Bishop John of Ravenna converted during the 7th century. Not only is the cathedral the smallest in the world but it could also be considered the oldest being adapted from a 4th century Roman building.

At the side of the Cathedral it is still possible to recognise Diocletian's Mausoleum behind the bell tower. The tower was constructed in the year 1100 AD in the Romanesque style. Having climbed two high towers this year, I decided to give this one a miss.

At the foot of the Bell Tower and guarding the entrance to the Cathedral are two lions. 

Sphinx brought back from Egypt by Diocletian to decorate his palace dating back to 1500 BC. 

The entrance vestibule to the Emperor's living quarters was built to impress. It now resembles a mini Pantheon but it was in fact built with a dome and highly decorated with frescoes. It has perfect acoustics beloved of singers. I find it staggering just how sophisticated Roman architecture was when you consider that it was another 1100 years before Brunelleschi designed and built his dome in Florence.

Life as it is lived today within the palace walls.

A Renaissance palace of the patrician family of Karepić. The oldest parts of the palace indicate a Gothic rebuilding of a Romanesque house.

The inner courtyard of a late Gothic palace which belonged to a wealthy merchant. The oldest part of the palace is Romanesque, as confirmed by a fresco showing a peacock found on the second floor. Today it appears to be several homes plus a Travel Agency.

Outside the northern stretch of wall showing the Golden Gate entry. Of all the four entrances to the palace this one is architecturally the most elaborate and was probably the main entrance.

To the front of the Golden Gate is a statue of Gregory of Nin, a medieval Croatian bishop. He preached in the national language - previously services were only held in Latin which the common man could not understand. The statue is by local Croatian sculptor, Ivan Meštrović. He was also responsible for two important sculptures in America - The Spearman and The Bowman which stand as gatekeepers at the Congress Plaza, Chicago. Rubbing the foot is said to bring 'good luck', especially the big toe!!!

The west gate known as the Iron Gate is the principal link between the Palace and the 'new' medieval suburb.

The final gate in the east wall known as the Silver Gate leads out to a large open air market.

Outside the palace walls - a view of the waterfront at Split, and................

...................even today a few Romans can still be found lurking around in the corners!