Year of inscription on the UNESCO list: 1979
The central part of Split is a labyrinth or narrow paved streets, roman monuments and medieval architecture. These are the remnants of the ancient Palace of the emperor Diocletian - a foundation upon which the city grew. Well preserved through centuries, the remains of the Palace together with later medieval extensions present an extremely valuable architectural, historical and cultural complex enrolled in 1979 on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The name of the Palace comes from its creator, the roman emperor Gajus Aurelius Valerius Diocletian. The palace was build acording to the emperor's wish to have a peaceful retreat for his old days constructed in his home land, the province of Dalmatina, on the shores of the Adriatic. Apart from that, the location was probably chosen because due to plenty of high quality stone available in this area, its mild climate and thermal springs that were supposed to ease the emperor's hardships.
The construction of the palace is held to have begun in 295, after the Diocletian reform of the empire and introduction of tetrarchy. The emperor moved into the palace after his abdication in 305, but the construction lasted a few years more.
The greek names of Zotikos and Filotas, as well as numerous greek letters, found engraved in the palace entrusted the masters of the East with the construction of his palace. The building material was brought in from quarries on the island of Brač and from Seget near Trogir. Furthermore, the decorations of the palace include details from the whole empre: granite columns and sphinx from Egypt, marbel from Italy and carved stones from the island of Prokonese in Asia Minor.
Although bulit form residentianl pruposes, the palace resembles a castrum - roman fortified military camp. Reason for this lies in its secluded position, four miles from Salona, the capital of the province, but probably also in the soldiers mentality of the emperor. The Palace is encircled by strong walls measuring 574 - 593 feet east to west and over 700 feet north to south. A strong rectangular bastion stands on each corner of the palace, with town gates additionaly fortified by octagonal towers. Two main streets of the Palace: the cardo and the decumanus exactly match the two main steets of each roman military camp: the via praetoria and via principalis.
The walls of the palace have a total of four gates: three from the ladn and one from the sea. The east and west gates of the Palace are called the porta argentea (the Silver Gate) and the porta ferrea (the Iron Gate). The entrance from the sea was called the porta aenea (the Brass Gate) while the main, northern entrance of the Palace was called porta aurea or the Golden Gate. Decumanus street, connecting the east and the west gate, functionally divided the palace in two parts: the norther part of the Palace contained edifice for servants and the army, granaries etc., while the northern part had been reserved for the emperor and his family. Cardo street begins at the Golden Gate and leads to the Perystile, large open space in front of the emperors quarters, surrounded by arcades. To the left of Perystile a large octogonal Mausoleum of the emperor had been build and to the right the tempels of Jupiter, Cybelis and Venus.
The comples of the palace as a whole has no model in the ancient architecture of the time. This is due to its particular function and geographical adaptiation. The complex is a magnificent example of the late roman architecture, when the urge for luxury and picturesqueness provailed over the classic restrainment and purity.
After the death of Diocletian in 316, the life continues in the Palace, providing refuge for expelled members of emperor's family. The key event proved to be the fall of Salona to the Slav tribes, when its inhabitans sought protection of the strong walls of the Palace. This will be the beggining of a new urban life and a new city of Split. In medieval times, from XIIth to XIVth century, a new architectural is afoot and most of roman buildings, squares and porches had been replaced by stone houses. The Emperor's Mausoleum had been turned into a christian cathedral and the construction of the romanical bell tower of St. Duje had begun. Romanical art is also present in the works of Andrija Buvina and Juraj the Dalmatian on the cathedral, the bell tower and many palaces.
