Split and Diocletian's Palace

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Split was once known a Spalato and was a Venetian city from 1699 to 1797. The name stuck until World War I. The principal attraction in Split is Diocletian's Palace. The residence and garrison was built for Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century when the city was known as Spalatum. Some of the building material was later used to construct Split. In some parts, the city had seemingly grown into the ruins and become a part of them. The ruins of the palace were still under excavation in 1975. I recall walking through an underground chamber and seeing a full wall, floor to ceiling, of unexcavated mud ahead. The underground chambers had been trash pits and sludge receptacles in the Medieval and Renaissance eras, so archaeologists apparently had a task ahead of them. The Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Another important personage of Split was the Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrovic (1883-1962). He had worked in Split and emigrated to the United States in 1946. A museum in Split was formed from a gift he made of his sculptures to Yugoslavia in 1952. As well as his work on view in the gallery, other sculptures by him could be seen around the city.

In the evening, we attended a performance of Verdi's opera Nabucco at the Split Festival. As the lights went down, a whole bunch of people outside the open-air venue jumped up and clung onto the surrounding fence to watch the performance. Clinging room instead of standing room.

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Photos

Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace. Egyptian sphinx. Sphinxes dating to the reign of Thutmose III were brought from Egypt. This is the remaining intact example. EE1975247

Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace. Corinthian columns of the Peristyle.
"An architectural innovation, practised here for the first time on a large building, is the arrangement by which the arches rest directly on the capitals of the columns, as in the Peristyle and the Porta Aurea".--Baedeker 1911. EE1975248

Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace. The residence and garrison was built for Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century. Some of the building material was later used to construct Split. The ruins were still under excavation in 1975.
"On the N. side of the harbour lies the quadrangular, wall-girt Palace of Diocletian, built by the Emperor Diocletian (born at Salona; emperor 284-305; d. 313 ) and enclosing the Old Town (3000 inhab.), a web of narrow streets crowded with insignificant houses ..."--Baedeker 1911. EE1975249

Diocletian's Palace
Diocletian's Palace. The residence and garrison was built for Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century. Some of the building material was later used to construct Split. The ruins were still under excavation in 1975. EE1975250

Split Street
A narrow street in split shows how is is formed out of Diocletian's Palace. EE1975251

Ivan Meštrović Gallery
Galerija Meštrović - Ivan Meštrović Gallery. Museum of the work of Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović (1883-1962). Built in 1931-1939 as Meštrović's villa. Šetalište Ivana Meštrovića 46. EE1975245p1

Cyclops
Cyclops, by Ivan Meštrović (1933). On the grounds of the Ivan Meštrović Gallery.
EE1975246

Gregory of Nin
Statue of Gregory of Nin, by Ivan Meštrović (1929). Gregory of Nin was a 10th century bishop who promoted use of Croation in religious services. EE1975252p1

Split Harbor
Split harbor.
"Spalato, the ancient Aspalathos, Croatian Spljet, with 31,450 inhab . (mostly Croatians), the economic centre of the Dalmatian trade in wine, lies picturesquely encircled by lofty hills, in a fertile region, on a peninsula washed on the N. side by the Canale Castelli, and on the S. side by the Canale di Spalato. From 1420 to 1797 it belonged to Venice".--Baedeker 1911. EE1975253p1

Split Festival
Program for Verdi's Nabucco at the Split Festival 1975.
Program011