Diocletian’s Palace

By | January 23, 2008 at 10:50 pm | 4 comments | Split | Tags: , ,





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.

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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.

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4 Comments

  1. Elisa (2 years ago)

    Nice description of the palace!

  2. Modern Rugs (1 year ago)

    The palace was originally built between 295 and 305 AD and was huge. Today you can still see the remains of it which make Split old town so special. I really liked checking out the narrow alleys and the squares in this area.
    .-= Modern Rugs´s last blog ..Southwest Area Rugs – Rugs in Timeless Tradition =-.

  3. andamios (1 year ago)

    The ground plan of the palace is an irregular rectangle (approximately 160 meters x 190 meters) with towers projecting from the western, northern, and eastern facades. It combines qualities of a luxurious villa with those of a military camp, with its huge gates and watchtowers.

  4. clarence (8 months ago)

    in 2006, the croatian government nearly destroyed the complex by allowing developers to build new apartment housing, a shopping mall and a car park INSIDE the palace area!!! only the vehement protest by the local folks in the city saved the palace complex by having the “development” plan canceled!!! what kind of government would allow such a thing? god saves us from “governments” and their cronies

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