History, Culture and Vibrancy

by Goky Brkic

With a population of more than two hundred thousand, Split is the second largest city in Croatia and the center of the coastal region of Dalmatia. Known for its culture, history, and tourist attractions, Split is the best Croatia has to offer.

History and Landmarks

The origins of the city can be traced all the way to the Romans. The Roman Emperor Diocletian, who lived in the 4th century AD, wanted to build himself a retirement mansion. He liked the area of today’s Split for its natural beauties and the warm Adriatic Sea, so he had it built there. In the centuries that followed, the city of Split grew around it, even after the Romans were long gone. The Palace and its surroundings eventually become the historical city core of Split (or Split Old Town), and nowadays the remains of the Diocletian’s Palace are among the best preserved remains of a Roman palace in the world. It was included in the register of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1979, and is even featured on Croatian banknotes. Built in an irregular rectangle, it was a combination of a luxurious villa and a military camp. Its walls and the center court, the Peristyle, now housing various vendors and souvenir shops, can be explored freely by tourists. However, a tour through its cellar includes a 5 Euro entrance fee.

Some Roman structures were modified to serve a different purpose, such as the unused Diocletian’s mausoleum, which was incorporated into the Cathedral of St. Domnius, another of the city’s landmarks. Consecrated in the 7th century AD, historians believe it’s the second oldest structure to serve as a Christian Cathedral. Even though some of its parts were constructed afterwards, such as the 12th century Bell Tower, the Cathedral remains an important example of Romanesque architecture in the Mediterranean.

Museums and Culture

A city of such interesting history has several museums and galleries in which parts of that history are exhibited. For instance, the Gallery of Fine Arts contains works spanning through six centuries, thus providing an overview of artistic movements in Split and Croatia. Founded in 1931, it houses one of the greatest exhibitions of paintings and sculpture by major Croatian artists, but dedicating space to contemporary art as well.

The Split City Museum features a collection of local cultural, artistic, and economic heritage, plus a collection of works by Emanuel Vidovic, the greatest Split-based painter of the 20th century. If you wish to learn more about the traditional Dalmatian lifestyle, visit the Ethnographic Museum, dedicated to promoting folk heritage and finding its new, contemporary applications.

The Adriatic Sea was crucial in shaping the lives and culture of the people of the city. Split’s inhabitants were always sailors and fishermen, and the exhibits of the Croatian Maritime Museum show that part of their lifestyle. Displaying marine equipment, weapons, navigation gear, ship models, uniforms and related artwork, it’s crucial in understanding the Dalmatian history and culture.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Split and the surrounding area is heavily based on seafood; fish, clams, oysters are usually boiled or grilled and served with vegetables or potato. Local delicacies include grilled sardines, the octopus salad, or the special kind of dry ham called “prsut”. Served with local wine, the food is usually not spicy, but some restaurants, drawing influences from other Mediterranean countries, started adding exotic spices to traditional Dalmatian dishes, giving them a new spin. For classic local delicacies search for a “konoba” sign, denoting a family-owned tavern specialized in authentic dishes. Of course, if you’re not a lover of seafood, there are plenty of fast food joints in every part of the city.

Nightlife

During the summer tourist season the local nightlife flourishes, especially along the Bacvice beachside, featuring several late-opening clubs and beach bars. But the city is big and diverse enough for anyone, with different clubs playing vastly different music. Electronic music lovers should proceed to the minimally decorated Quasimodo, Split’s top venue for DJ nights, or the Jungla (Hula Hula), playing house and techno music. Rock lovers should visit the Kocka or Judino Drvo, where local bands often perform. O’ Hara Music Club is popular among tourists, due to its attractive location at the Zenta waterfront; hosting great parties, it’s great for dancing and drinking. Also, a plethora of bars can be found at the main city promenade, locally known as Riva, which is a great place for slow walks among the rows of palm trees with the incredible view of turquoise Adriatic Sea.

Events

The city is especially vibrant and lively during the summer, and various events (exhibitions, concerts, plays) are held every day. The most well-known are the Mediterranean Film Festival (held in June), showcasing regional films at several local venues and the Split Summer Festival, consisting of open-air theater and various dance and music performances. Some parts of the program are even held in the Diocletian’s Palace.

The Palace is also the location of the annual Festival of Flowers (usually held in May), where exhibitors display their flower arrangements based on a particular theme. Visually stunning, it’s a must-visit if you’re in the city at that time. If you’re interested in Roman culture, you’ll be happy to hear that there’s a whole festival dedicated to it. The Days of Diocletian are usually held in late August, and the entire area of the Palace becomes a living monument to the Romans, featuring their cuisine, lifestyle, clothing and customs. Entertaining and educational at the same time, the Days of Diocletian are especially popular with kids.

The 7th of May is a date very important for the people of Split: that’s when the celebration of Split’s patron saint, Saint Domnius (“Sveti Duje” in Croatian) takes place. It’s an important local holiday and a feast day, with a procession, food, music and a carnival.

Private Tour: Split Day Trip from Dubrovnik

If You Go:

♦ The Croatian currency is Kuna (1 Euro = 7.55 Kuna, 1 US Dollar = 6.7 Kuna)

♦ Split has an international airport  some 25 kilometers west of the city. There are lines from and to major European cities, especially in the summer. Airport buses or taxi transfers will take you from the airport to the city center. Notice: bare in mind that buses can be overcrowded during main tourist season (June to September)

♦ Split is connected to Zagreb, the Croatian capital, with the A1 motorway. The road infrastructure is generally good and the trip takes around three and a half hours if you’re traveling by car.

♦ A good deal of Croatians speaks English quite well (Italian and German are spoken as well) and will be glad to help if you need anything. Police are accustomed to dealing with tourists and you can approach them if you have a problem or a question.

♦ The country joined the European Union in 2013, meaning that travelers from EU countries can enter the country visa-free with a passport or a national identity card. Nationals of other countries that can enter Croatia without a visa include the United States, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Turkey, Canada and Chile.  Visitors from other countries may require a Visa to enter Croatia.

♦ If you decide to visit Split, you should also check the weather forecast at Croatia’s meteorological and hydrological service as well as Tourist Board of Split for more useful information.

About the author:
Goky Brkic is a passionate traveler and enthusiastic writer on topics that cover travels and exploration of new interesting places, cuisines and cultures around the world. He’s especially familiar with the region of Balkans and also enjoys wandering through coastal cities of the Mediterranean.

Photo credits:
Diocletians mausoleum, Split by Beyond silence / Public domain
Cathedral of Saint Domnius by by Beyond silence / Public domain
Split Gallery of Fine Arts by JoJan / CC BY
Dalmatinski Prsut by Haydn Blackey from Cardiff, Wales / CC BY-SA
Split city by DIREKTOR / Public domain
Diocletian palace by neufal54 from Pixabay

by Wynne Crombie

Slanted sun rays fell upon the two-thousand- year-old boulders that formed one wall of our Split hotel room. The Peristil Hotel was a part of the Diocletian Palace, the basis of today’s Split.

The Roman emperor, of the same name, had viewed this as his retirement, “mega-mansion” and eventual burial ground for himself. It is ironic justice that the Christians he murdered during his reign (284 – 305 A. D) are buried there instead.

The Underground Tour is a must. Diocletian had added a subterranean floor (podrum), or basement, as his “support area”, where the cooking, wine making and palace fix-it shop were all located. The ventilation system was elaborate for its time. This was a needed commodity because he used this area to deposit garbage, some of which remains to this day in pulverized form. Pieces of the Emperor’s original wine-making apparatus are still in place.

These underground halls were originally only a substructure to support the upper structure. Today, these cellars enable us to see the exact ground-plan of the south part of the palace where the emperor Diocletian lived with his family. These halls play a significant part in the everyday life of 21st century Split.

Today’s residents live in the quarters there Diocletian’s soldiers once lived. There are some 220 buildings within the palace walls that are home to about 3,000 people. In Diocletian’s time, it had some sixty thousand inhabitants. UNESCO has declared the entire section of the city enclosed by the old palace walls, a World Heritage Site.

Within this warren of narrow cobblestone streets, pre-Romanesque churches exist alongside cafes, bars, shops, boutique hotels and apartments.

During basement restorations, scientists discovered stone elements older than the Palace itself. You can see part of the marble table that was once in the Diocletian dining room!

The Vestibule, at the southern end of the Palace, served as an entrance to the Emperor’s residence. Mostly, it was a waiting room for visitors summoned to see the emperor.

This ancient foyer is a marvel in antiquity. Statues stand in rounded niches. Its white rotunda wall is capped with a large, open dome and glittering color mosaic. If you catch the sun just right you can take a spectacular photo of sunlight shining through the dome.

From the Vestibule, the network of corridors wind around to where they form a number of galleries and souvenir shops. A lot of handcrafted items, such as paintings, jewelry and embroidered items are for sale. At the end of the “shopping corridor” you climb a set of stairs and come out onto the Peristyle Square. Take time out to sample coffee at Luxor’s Café before discovering St. Dominuis Cathedral a few steps away.

Diocletian originally had the eight-sided Cathedral built as a mausoleum for himself. In 316 A.D. he was laid to rest and spent 170 years of eternity there before someone stole his remains… no telling who. To this day, they have never been found.

The original doors have been taken inside and covered with glass. The twenty-eight carved wooden panels by the 13th century artist, Andrija Buvina, showing the life of Jesus… from the Annunciation to the Ascension… is worth the price of admission alone. (10 Kuna – $2)

After the Emperor’s remains were taken from his mausoleum, and, with the rise of Christianity, the mausoleum was transformed into a Catholic Cathedral. So much for Diocletian’s campaign to eradicate Christianity.

A small black sphinx, perched near the entrance to the cathedral, is one of sixteen that Diocletian had his slaves drag over from Luxor. Nearby is a column he pilfered from Greece. In total, Diocletian looted some 28 granite and marble columns from the Greeks and Egyptians, just to decorate his final resting place. The sphinx is in remarkable shape with just the nose slightly smashed in. It lies just outside the Cathedral’s entrance in the Peristyle where the Split Summer Musical Festival is held every July and August.

I walked into the narthex of the octagonal- shaped building. As cathedrals go, this is rather small. The plethora of Romanesque architectural features is rather overwhelming. Side by side ornate carvings are topped by a vaulted ceiling. If you look way up, you can see busts of Diocletian and his wife Prisca, around the dome. That’s the only evidence they were ever here. Where was his original resting place? His sarcophagus is thought to have been placed somewhere in the middle of the cathedral.

I headed to the right and climbed the stairs to the Cathedral’s museum. Krunoslav, the museum’s archivist, was standing behind an array of brochures describing the museum in seven different languages. I was his only customer.

“Dobro Jutro.” he said, “I’m not busy. Come, I’ll give you a solo tour.”

My first impression was, so much jewelry and objects d’art crammed into one place. How was everything protected? There didn’t appear to be much of a security system in this rather small room.

Krunoslav walked me past vestments encrusted with gold thread, and Baroque reliquaries containing remnants of martyred saints. Peering at the ornamental minute stitches on these early vestments, you can’t help but compare it to mass production of the 21st century.

The oldest item was a book of 7th century masses in Croatian, the so-called Split Book of the Gospels. There were relics of St. Arnira and St. Arnir, both 12th century. Martyrs, next to chalices embedded with rubies and diamonds.

Krunoslav told me that not much has changed here since 300 A.D., except for the addition of the 197 ft. bell tower adjacent to the cathedral. It was built in stages from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Weather took its toll and some restoration took place from 1890 to 1906. The tower is built in both Romanesque and Gothic Renaissance styles. Alas, during the 19th century reconstruction, the bell tower’s original Romanesque sculptures were removed. The tower defines Split to this day. Split’s Roman heritage really began in, Solona, just above Split in the hills. (a twenty- minute bus ride from town) We ventured out for a look. This is ancient Split from the Roman times, including an amphitheatre. Check out this outdoor arena; it was once three stories high and sat 15,000. Hard to imagine that this pile of Roman ruins was once the largest city on the eastern Adriatic coast.

An hour’s bus ride took us out to Trogir. The entire town is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list and rightly so. Situated on a small island, (you walk across a small bridge) it was founded in the 3rd century, B.C. by the Greeks. Walk around and take in the ornate stonework and delightful restaurants and shops.

Split is a city like no other – a superb blend of Croatian and Roman antiquities just waiting to be explored.

More Information:

Tourist Board of Split Official Website

There is no direct flight from the U.S. to Split. However, many European airlines fly to Split, Zagreb, and Dubrovnik.

Split Tours Now Available:
Grand Split Walking Tour
Split Wine Tasting
Small group Split Walking Tour and Split Car Tour
Split Culinary Tour

Where to stay:
If you are an antiquities fan, there is no place but the Hotel Peristil. This wonderful little 3 star hotel is built right into the Diocletian Palace. About $150/night (double)
Where to eat:
– Restoran Tifani: Located right in the Peristil Hotel. Grilled meats and fish are staples. Great, friendly service. – entrees $10-$30
– Kanoba Varos: The word, Kanoba, means Croatian food. We found many locals eating here. Very atmospheric. Fish and grilled meat plus Croatian favorites like cevapi (sausages) and palacinke (filled crepes) – entrees, $12-15
– Hotel Park Dining Room The hotel is located just outside the Old Town. International cuisine. (expensive)

About the author:
Wynne Crombie has a master’s degree in adult education and teaches English at Harper College outside of Chicago. She met her husband of forty years, (Kent)in Berlin. Wynne was teaching with the Department of Defense School System and Kent was an Air Force Security officer. They have four grown daughters.

Photo credits:
All photos are by Wynne Crombie.