Croatia Travel Blog » Split

Diocletian’s Palace

John Brackett — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:50:39 +0000

The main tourist area of Split is the main portico of the Palace. It’s still largely in tact and represents the entrance to Diocletian’s primary living quarters, as well as his tomb and temple to Venus, which is on the spot of Luxor Cafe now. At night, the entire area is lit up and looks wonderful. The city is currently restoring the Roman formations around the portico, so there will be scaffolding covering a large portion of it for, I recall, about 10 years.

The highlight of our time spent in Diocletian’s Palace was the Palace tour. You get a Docent and are put in with a small group of fellow travelers. Ours took us to the deepest recesses of the Palace basement. Excavation of the debris that packed the foundation of the palace salvaged many artifacts and left an exact replica of the interior quarters of the palace for the ages. We explored catacombs of rooms that have been identified for their upstairs functions. A bust is preserved, as well as a roman eating tray and various tools. Our docent was great. She was into the history, and loved showcasing her knowledge.

Travelers history of Split Croatia

John Brackett — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:47:57 +0000

Before visiting Split, it’s handy to know the history, otherwise the whole place can be a bit confusing. Today Split is large Croatian city of about 200,000 citizens. Split is the economic and administrative center of Central Dalmatia, and a large tourist area. The history of Split is fascinating. Split was first settled at the end of the third century AD, when the Roman Emperor Diocletian built his retirement palace here. He is actually the person who invented retirement. As the longest reigning Emperor in the history of Rome, he decided that 20 years was enough. He built a palatial palace near his home town of Salonae (present day Solin) Dalmatia, along the banks of the Adriatic and setup his version of housekeeping. This included several hundred soldiers, slaves, and other assorted personal. Diocletian lived in the palace for another 10 years before his death in 305 AD. He was placed inside his mausoleum and rested peacefully for around 300 years.

In the 7th Century the inhabitants of Salonae sought refuge from the Avars and the Slavs inside the palace walls. Salonae, once the central economic city in Dalmatia with over 60,000 residents was destroyed completely. Over the ensuing years the inhabitants of Diocletian’s Palace built their own structures inside and around the palace walls. They even cut holes in the ground and dumped their waste in side the cavernous basement of the Palace.

Today, the Palace is still largely intact, as are the centuries old buildings that overtook it. It’s a strange amalgamation of styles and buildings. As a top Croatian tourist destination we found excellent shops, restaurants, and local life.

Guide to Split Croatia

John Brackett — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:43:21 +0000

Our ferry from Hvar docked in split near the entrance to Diocletian’s Palace. We parked our bags with members or our group, then Tony and I ventured through the gates into the city to seek out our hotel and find the best path to get there from the dock. The Adriatic side of the palace is enormous, stretching at least two city blocks before devolving into a mishmash of Medieval and more recent structures. The boardwalk near the entrance is alive with street vendors, cafe and general tourist activity. As we made our way into the palace walls, I was stricken by the shock of being back in a city after spending the past 3 days in the peaceful confines of paradise.

Hotel Salvija is inside Diocletian’s Palace, and was surprisingly easy to find within the narrow, dark medieval streets. Soon we retrieved our group and rolled our cases along the cobblestone streets and alleyways and checked in. Split is not an easy place to navigate for the first time visitor. I highly suggest scoping it out first, like we did.

Laura and I had the top floor of the hotel which featured a nice sized patio that overlooked the worn, settled rooftops of medieval buildings on one side and Jupiter’s temple on the other. The room was older and not near the boutique luxury that we had become accustomed to at Hotel Amfora. But it was comfortable and suited our needs perfectly.

Traveling from Hvar to Split

John Brackett — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:25:24 +0000

After 3 full days we had to depart Hvar for our final destination of Split Croatia. We had one final drink at Carpe Diem and boarded the ferry for the two hour trip up the coast. Our entire group had fallen deeply for Hvar, and given the chance, we would have stayed there for the duration of the trip. But our plans were set an there were more adventures to be had.

The ferry left at sunset and headed north towards Split. There is something about the romance of travel that comes out in a slow boat ride. We passed sailboats passing in front of the setting sun, and watched the small uninhabited islands of Croatia slip from view into the darkness as night fell. The moon was out in full, which created a vibrant moonbeam on the water that trailed our ship along its path to Split.