In between Venice, Italy and Dubrovnik, Croatia lie a number of islands and coastal towns that form Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. I have been fortunate to have visited Dubrovnik twice – as charming a town as I have ever seen. But, in a recent trip along the coast, I got to spend a brief day in Split, not quite halfway between Dubrovnik and Venice and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
While Dubrovnik beats Split in the picturesque category, Split is very pleasing to the eye and feels much more approachable and livable. I would rather spend a couple of weeks in Split than in Dubrovnik for sure.
A bit on how Split became important… Diocletian
Split is an old town in a continent of old towns. Its main claim to fame is the palace built by Roman emperor Diocletian as his retirement home. Diocletian retired from being emperor in a job that people did not get to retire from. Much as the late Pope Benedict XVI did in another job typically worked until natural (or otherwise) death came about.
Diocletian ruled in the late third century A.D. after doing a lot of things, including persecuting Christians in his empire. The bloodiest and largest persecutions conducted by Rome across the early A.D. centuries were his – nice guy… Diocletian was born in the Roman area called Dalmatia (a good bit of current Croatia). As many did before him, he rose through the Roman military’s ranks to become emperor.
The rare retired Roman emperor needs a palace
Diocletian decided to voluntarily leave the emperor role as illness had impacted him. He built himself a palace a short distance from the capital of the province of Dalmatia by the waters of the Adriatic.
His palace was built more like a fortress, surrounded by massive walls on all four sides (as the image below shows) and dotted by a number of towers. It also had four main gates, one on each side, with one of them facing the water.
Today, land has been reclaimed so that gate is no longer opening up to boats but to cafes and other establishments that then face the water.
Retaining Roman walls in a modern setting
The “palace” retains some of the walls and a few towers as well as some of the structures from Diocletian’s time.
As you walk inside the so-called palace, you find amazing remnants of the original structure. For example, a small sphinx brought from Egypt, the vestibule area where people waited to enter the former emperor’s quarters, and the like.
A palace that is a town, still lived in
However, over the centuries buildings/structures have come and gone. The inside of the palace is more like an old town that is still being lived in – an ongoing residential area almost two millennia later.
We heard that, unfortunately, private businesses are buying buildings to set up fancy boutique hotels, offer rental apartments for tourists, etc. This means that locals are being pushed out. It is a shame that it is taking place here (and many other charming towns across Europe) though one can see the appeal.
Markets always offer good photo opps!
Different architectural styles
If you pay attention as you walk around, you will notice the mark from different architectural styles from Roman to Venetian Republic to Hapsburg and more. I imagine it will mean a lot more to architects than to me but even I, a layperson, enjoyed seeing the contrasting styles in town.
An amazing town to check out
Split is much more than Diocletian’s palace. It is an important port and the many ferries coming and going to Italy and other towns and islands in the Adriatic are evidence of that. I am hoping to find a place to rent (outside of the palace!) and spend time chilling in this fantastic Adriatic and historical town!
